Geas Wolf
by SquidbillyBritt
Summary: Beaten and bruised Oliver is freed from his prison by an enigma, her scent inviting him to the chase. Felicity is still mad at Caitlin for setting her up at a 'Halloween' party. The forces collide in this halloween inspired fic. Certain creatures stalk the night. *Olicity A/U A/R
1. Chapter 1

**Geas Wolf**

* * *

He didn't know how long he'd been running for now, the small body he exhibited possessing unnatural ability to sustain a constant speed, the four limbs light and deft on the snowy landscape.

He could hear the crunch of the snow under the pads of his paws but could no longer feel the cold. The scent that burned through his nose kept him warm. The thrumming in his veins pumping him on to find her, the girl.

It was almost a month ago when he'd seen her for the first and last time. He was locked behind iron bars, his body battered and abused—caught in a ridiculous trap. He didn't know when he had lost consciousness but even the dead would wake with how much noise the woman was making. She thought he was nothing more than a simple animal, being illegally poached by hunters and she was out in the middle of the night, freeing him.

He didn't know if her activisms was extremely brave or extremely stupid.

She was releasing a wild wolf, an injured animal at that. It was not the safest activism to be doing, and while he was grateful she had stubbled onto his hellish prison he was none too impressed.

What had struck him about her was the compassion in her eyes. Blue eyes to rival his own wolf had shinned with unshed tears as she struggled with the overdone chain securing his cage.

She had muttered to herself angrily, putting all her might into the bolt cutters she was operating.

"I'm so sorry humans suck." She whispered into the quiet night, her breath loud due to her adrenaline, "I'll get you out of here soon and you wont ever have to worry about anyone touching you when you don't want them too." She rushed the words out into the cold air, the end of her statement enunciated by the clattering of the lock falling from its secured position. The unraveling of the chains was a hurried mess and within seconds she was freeing his prison and swinging the door open fluidly, waisting no time and rushing to the other cages.

Too many things kept him on the floor longer than he liked, his body too weak to follow after her.

He felt his frustration beat at his chest as her scent weakened while he laid there longer, her vigilantism complete and her escape a mad dashing retreat. The door closed on the small shack with a bang and encased him in a loud silence, the scurrying of animals from their respective cages happening seconds after she had fully disappeared till only the sound of his panting was filling his ears.

He couldn't let her escape.

Her scent burned through his body, setting off electrodes and sensations he'd never experienced. It was a feeling busting suddenly and swiftly through his heart, a piece of something he was missing and never knew. And then she was running away, and he couldn't move.

He wouldn't let her escape.

She was an enigma, and he was going to explore it.

After what had felt like hours he finally drug his battered body from the ratty shack the poachers were hiding him and other beasts in. It felt exhilarating to smell the crisp snow again, his senses coming alive and the fire lighting in his blood.

He could feel the ancient geas burning along his shoulder blades, under the thick coat of his dark fur, warning him on the thin amount of magic he was running on. He would have to stop and rest before he could catch up to his firebird.

Butt he would find her, that he was most assured of.

And he would devour her.

* * *

Felicity couldn't believe she had been roped into coming here. It was a fancy charity event her friend Caitlin had talked her into attending, telling her it was a Halloween theme.

Apparently Felicity was the only one who had really been in the Halloween spirit. That or she had misunderstood Caitlin, but either way she felt slightly self conscious in her tight black dress. The length was modest but the fit was suggestive with the shoulders coming to a point, the ends coming to the same pattern just past her knees, the look finished off with a pair of black pumps. And yes, if you looked close enough you would even see the little bat wings decorating the heel.

Overall, she felt pretty ridiculous standing in the room looking like a cartoon character.

Caitlin had managed to blend in with a simple gold sequin gown she had justified to Felicity's indignation with, "Its Belle inspired!"

It was still a cop-out in Felicity's opinion.

A waiter with a full tray dipped by with various wines on it, catching Felicity's embarrassed attention just in time for her to spin on her heel and snag a drink. She didn't even care what wine it was, as long as it was going in her mouth. She turned her head sheepishly towards Caitlin seeing a humorously arched brow and tilted smirk.

Felicity smiled and shifted her eyes away, looking at the many faces around her. At this point she thinks she can handle looking like a lush too, she already looks the fool.

"Don't worry so much about it," Caitlin whispers reassuringly under her breath, seeing how tense the woman was and laughing at her ways. It was refreshing to have a friend like Felicity around. Though Caitlin did feel a little bad about setting her up…just a little though. Because Caitlin was not a bad friend and if her plan went accordingly then Felicity would be thanking her later.

"You know, I heard that Ray Palmer will be hear tonight," Caitlin suddenly informed the blonde, ignoring the choking she heard coming from the woman as she inhaled some of her wine.

"What! Caitlin!" Felicity finally hissed at the woman after she regained her breath. "You did this on purpose didn't you?!" she had been friends with Caitlin, and roommates for that short time, to have known better than to not expect something like this. Her friend wasn't the most discreet at times.

And she was always trying to hook her up! Felicity didn't even like Ray Palmer that much. You get drunk once and tell your best friend your boss has a nice ass and you're suddenly always being put into awkward situations.

Caitlin's innocent smile and eye avoidance answered Felicity and she couldn't believe she hadn't seen this coming from a mile away.

"You are the most meddlesome friend that I have ever had." Felicity admonished, starting in on her since she had nothing better to do with a glass of wine in one hand and bat wings on her heels, looking like a witch in a party of kangaroos. "That's the last time I tell you about a guy! I don't know why you feel compelled to do these things to me! it never goes well and something embar—"

"Ms. Smoak?" A voice cut in from behind Felicity.

She glared at Caitlin hard, ignoring the suggesting smirk the woman shot back.

'Mother Frack!' Felicity though, turning slowly to see the person she knew belonged to the chipper voice.

It also happened to be the same guy that owned Palmer Technologies and was subsequently a billionaire. Hey no big deal, talking to the richest man in Starling was a piece of cake.

"Mr. Palmer!" Felicity smiled brightly, cocking her head to the side and hoping she managed to pull off confident.

"I thought that was you! You look lovely!" He charmed brightly, the dimples in his cheeks popping out with the width of his smile.

"Oh, thank you," she muttered, looking down at her dress and feeling a flush of embarrassment run across her chest. She certainly didn't feel worthy of the praise.

"Are you here alone?" He asked, gesturing around the empty space.

'What?!' Felicity whipped her head back, seeing that Caitlin had sipped away before Ray had noticed her. 'Im going to kill her!' She thought franticly, smiling nervously at the man in front of her. It wasn't that she didn't like Ray, he was plenty nice enough and could hold a conversation well, but he was too persistent for Felicity, and she found herself just a little uncomfortable around him at times.

"Oh um, no, I," She started, not knowing what she was supposed to say and feeling like this had all been a disaster from the minute she walked in the door. No, from the second Caitlin, the traitor, had convinced her to come.

Luckily, or unluckily, Ray didn't let her suffer for too long, smiling and offering her more directly, "Would you like to acco—"

"Excuse me."

A deep voice interrupted him suddenly and both Felicity and Ray turned simultaneously, seeing who the intruder could be.

Felicity felt like she was socked in the solar plexus.

Ray might be the richest man in Sterling, but this stranger, he was the most attractive. Felicity was still as her eyes locked onto two piercing blue orbs, staring back with intent, a burning promise of something wicked in them. He was a rugged man, his jaw was firm and a shadow of beard decorated the hard lines, it was stubble she wanted to run along her body.

It was a burning thought.

'Holy Cow.' She thought to herself, seeing the epitome of man standing in front of her, his presence a force she could swear she felt in her body. 'Jeez Felicity get yourself together! Do not drool in front of this man! Be an intelligent woman!' She berated, unable to form the actions to her will.

If he would just stop looking at her like that.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?" Ray suddenly broke from the side, and Felicity felt a flash of guilt for forgetting that the CEO was still standing there. He was literally just about to ask her out again, and she had forgotten he was there. That was a new low even for her, but even as she thought that her eyes were trailing back towards the man standing in front of her, feeling a jolt going down her spine as her eyes locked with his again.

She couldn't say she'd ever felt so aware of someone before.

'Woah, he is really intense,' The thought sent a thrill through her body. She wasn't normally like this and she didn't know if she should take a step back or lean in.

It was all really overwhelming.

Without taking his eyes from her own the stranger spoke up, the words like a caress on her body.

"It's Oliver."

Felicity could do Oliver.

At his raised brow and small lit to the corner of his mouth Felicity knew she'd just spoken aloud, and with the mortifying realization a hot blush started creeping up her neck. There was only one thing left for her to do, and that was open her mouth in a habit she couldn't control and thoroughly embarrass herself more, "Not do-do! More like, oh that'll do! Not that I wouldn't do you! I mean why would I do you? I don't know you! Not that I wou—oh sweet belly burger stop talking in three, two, one." Felicity finally finished, unable to look at the man in front of her and gapping at the floor.

What the hell had she just done?!

An awkward cough pulled Felicity's attention to an uncomfortable Ray, and with a disheartened wave he gestured to another group away from them, "I'm just going to go, it was nice meeting you Oliver." And like that he was gone, leaving Felicity to her own embarrassment. She could feel bad about her behavior towards Ray later, the man in front of her consuming her every inhibition at the moment.

"I'm sorry." Felicity apologized with a bashful smile, feeling her cheeks burn bright as he smirked back with a shake of his head and a step forward that suddenly had him in more personal space than she'd anticipated, the small patch of air between them turning electric.

She would never admit to anyone how her breath had caught in her throat, his height causing her to look up at him, her throat drying at the heated gleam in his eye.

This was crazy.

She had never been this kind of person, felt this type of connection with someone so quickly. It was like she knew him for so long and was already eager to explore everything he had to offer her. It was insane to think something like that could even be real and she tried to take a calming breath, her lungs filling with his scent and making her head fuzzy. He smelt like the woods, pines and cedar inviting her to play in his forest. It was a scent she could wrap her body around and be content till the end of time.

She wasn't aware of his hand coming up, but the sudden cupping of his large appendage around the back of her head had her heart picking up and her senses sharpening to every point he touched.

"I've been looking for you," he told her quietly, bringing his face forward and tilting her head slightly to the side. She reached out to steady herself, feeling him shudder as her fingers found their perch against the massive expansion of his hard chest. He was as solid as he look, and his body heat practically scalded through his clothes to get to her fingers.

Felicity could not believe how lost she was becoming to this man.

She knew nothing about him and he was already able to consume her, distracting her from the world around them. She didn't even stop to wonder what they looked like—two strangers taking it too far within seconds of meeting each other.

The thoughts of opinions and strangers were dashed from her mind in an instant as she felt his breath puff again the bare expansion of her neck.

"I could never forget that," he said into the space softly, and though she didn't know what he was talking about, she knew she would never forget this either.

He took a small step away and looked down at her, letting his eyes burn a trail down her body and she felt like if he touched her she might actually burst into flames. She gasped sharply and yanked her hands away as if she'd been burned, talking a half step back and feeling things go wrong quickly as the tip of her heal caught against the extended fabric of her shoe and twisted the foot back, sending her spiraling down faster than she understood what had happened.

As her world tilted and her gasp turned into a surprised eep she said a silent prayer that she could fall as gracefully as possible.

But the moment of impact never came, and it took her a second longer to realize why. The very attractive, and fast, Oliver had stepped into her space the moment she had stumbled, securing one hand around the back of her elbow and the other around her waist, pulling her up and close quickly.

The breath escaped her lungs in a surprised and heated rush, her hands clasping the slope of his shoulders intimately, their faces inches apart.

Felicity didn't know what to do. She didn't move, she couldn't even tell if she was breathing. It was a molten burn between them and all she wanted to do was run her hands forward and down his chest, testing how hard his lines were and how far they traveled.

She cleared her throat at the thought and smiled at him quickly, patting his shoulders to get him to let go.

Oliver stared at her a moment longer before slowly releasing her, his hands trailing along her body teasingly.

When she was finally steady she felt a little less lightheaded. "I'm sorry about that, I'm usually more graceful." and she typically was. It was just Felicity Law, the power of making herself look like a fool in any scenario.

"Don't worry about it. I can catch you again." He flirted and Felicity felt her heart flutter and had to quickly stop the nervous giggle from escaping her throat.

"Uh, thanks." She finally got out, not knowing what to say and too afraid to move from the simple word. The last thing she needed to do right now was to talk to fill the space. Who knew what would come out of her mouth then.

"What's your name?" He asked, his eyes haunting her, ready to devour whatever she gave him.

He leaned closer as she parted her fuchsia lips, her name almost inaudible. And though it was softly spoken between the two, if almost felt like a deal was sealed. The air thickened, a snapping in her very soul catching, the feeling of home warming her heart.

"It's Felicity."

Oliver leaned closer and raised his hand to her cheek, and unable to help herself she felt her eyes slide close, knowing without him saying what he was about to do.

"It's nice to meet you Felicity," he whispered a hairs breath from her lips, lightly slanting his own over hers before she had time to process anything.

It was the kiss that would forever go down in her book as the best of her life.

It was an introduction, light and brief but filled with the promise of more and a lingering tingle she knew would echo in her bones for hours to come.

It was brief and over before she could really enjoy it, her mind humming from the high she felt.

"Do you know me?" Felicity asked softly, she'd never seen or heard of Oliver before and he seemed so sure of who she was, and how she'd react to him too.

"From a feeling," Oliver said after a moment and Felicity smiled with a small giggle, it was a pretty cheeky pick up line. But he wasn't going to need a lot of lines with her.

'Get ahold of yourself,' she reprimanded again, wondering where this cavalier attitude was coming from. A strange tickle at her ankle had her looking down, groaning softly as she saw just another conundrum to her evening. Her poor bat shoes were apparently unable to handle the sharp twist of her almost fall earlier, the tension snapping her strap off. That meant she was going to be hobbling out of here. It would really only be fitting for the end of her evening.

Oliver must have been able to read her soured expression because he reached out, gasping the back of her elbow again and suddenly having all of her attention.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, looking down and seeing what she was muttering about.

"It's nothing bad, my strap just broke and I wont be able to leave here as gracefully as i entered." jShe jokingly replied, waving his concern off like it was nothing.

Oliver stared at her feet a moment longer before looking around then room and then back at her, a small smile lighting his face.

"I know we just met but if you could trust me I could get you out without anyone noticing." He seemed a little excited to her but she couldn't help but grin back at the infectiously light tone.

"My dignity is in your hands fair knight." She giggled, clasping a hand over her mouth to muffle her surprised yelp as he bent down and picked her up bridal style, his body suddenly moving in a way that made her dizzy and slipped silently onto an opened terrace successfully evading every eye in the room.

Felicity was laughing as he put her down, rounding with wide eyes and smiling at him, "how did you do that?" She questioned excitedly, her adrenaline rushing and heart pounding.

This man was like a shot of caffeine to her system.

She then noticed their next issue.

"Well, as fun as that was, it looks like theres no where to to from here." Felicity told Oliver, impressed by his ninja smooth moves to slip out of the door, but having to concede that they were on the second floor with the entrance and exit at their backs.

"There is a way to to from here," Oliver said while patting the ledge, holding his hand towards Felicity.

She laughed and paused, the first touch of dread creeping in. "Oh, no, your serious? Oliver were pretty far from the ground, I think its okay for me to walk out barefoot."

Even as she was explaining the alternatives to him, and why they were alternatives she'd deal with later, Oliver was stepping towards her, his smile still in place, urging her to continue trusting him.

"Felicity, I wont let anything happen to you." He assured her, taking her hand gently.

She was unsure, obviously. It wasn't every day a stranger asked you to jump off a building with him. He was an admittedly hot stranger whom she was also just kissing, but he was still asking her to trust him and jump off a building.

She must be certifiably insane because in the next second she was saying okay, finding her senses and body wrapped back around him as he urged her to hold on tight and hooked his arm under her legs again, pulling her closer than appropriate and catching her eyes with his own.

He smirked and without warming they were sailing over the ledge, the ground safely under his feet before the startled scream could even rip through her throat.

Felicity did jump up and out of his arms quickly though, spinning around and glaring at the man who had just jumped off the balcony! Jumped! And landed on his feet!

Like a cat!

"More like a dog actually," he said and Felicity stopped, looking at him in confusion.

"A Geas-bound Wolf to be exact." he supplied at her lost look.

Felicity felt her eyes widening. He was a Geas Wolf! They were so rare their very existence was more myth than fact, and Felicity didn't know what it was—it could have been the two story jump—but her first reaction remarkably wasn't disbelief. If anything it peaked her interest.

This man was already a mystery she wanted to wrap herself around, and this added to the find.

She had to learn everything she could about him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, unable to think of anything else to say. Here they were, hidden in the shadows of the large estate calmly discussing mythological creatures like it was completely normal. Apparently that might not be too far from the truth either.

"I was looking for you." He told her slowly, his expression flickering uncertain for the first time that evening.

"Why?" She asked, he already said he didn't know her.

"Because you're my mate."

Felicity Smoak knew nothing in her life would ever be the same. She didn't know how, but she knew it would forever be altered.

But that didn't mean she would just go willingly.

"Excuse me?!"


	2. Chapter 2

Geas Wolf

Beta:fairytalehearts

Chapter 2

* * *

If avoidance was a game, Felicity would be the crowned victor.

She wasn't know for dodging her problems, but when they came in a towering package of hotter than hell geas-bound wolf from the darkest recesses of mythology she was decidedly evasive. It didn't help that every time she was around him her brain would turn to mush and her body an embarrassing mess.

Temptation seemed too light a world for what Oliver was to her, and if she didn't stay on top of It she'd end up under him.

Two weeks.

That's how long Oliver had been in Felicity's life, and the whole previous week Felicity spent making sure someone was always around so Oliver would keep his hands to himself. Even that plan had it's flaws. It was usually just Caitlin, and Felicity was beginning to suspect that the woman was catching onto her tactics.

She chose to ignore the side-eye her friend had been giving her none too discreetly.

She felt like it was the only thing she could do to keep a hold of her thinly grasped sanity.

Felicity Smoak did not just jump into bed with strangers, and as much as Oliver swayed her affections he was still a mystery to her, a complex man that made her hesitant to vault headlong into a world that she knew nothing about. She didn't even know if she was privy to everything in Oliver's world, and he was evasive about anything to do with his lineage.

She'd probed the evening he'd literally swooped her off her feet, seeing the dark curves of black ink peeking out from the drooping collar of his shirt. The mark was the only physical reminder of something ancient lurking beneath the skin, and when she'd asked him about it he'd simply told her it was his Geas, the mark an ancient binding to the animal. The subject was then closed, and when Felicity pushed further to learn something—anything—about the man who came into her life and claimed her like a prized cow, he dipped his head and distracted her in ways entirely unfair.

She felt like he was just playing a game with her, a mythological creature coming down from the mountain for his virginal sacrifice. But she was no virgin, contrary to Caitlin's belief, and she didn't know the first thing about the man claiming such a tale. If she hadn't seen and felt the way he moved she would think he was crazy. She was still trying to figure out if she was the crazy one though.

His distracting methods always worked of course, which is why she had taken to avoiding him. Removing the temptation all together.

After proclaiming his claim on her as his mate Oliver had been a thorn in her side. A possessive, growling, hard thorn that apparently thought she was just going to submit to his will and do his bidding.

That certainly wasn't what she expected from a partner, and she wasn't going to let him manipulate her into the situation.

He'd already proven his tenacity. She had no doubt he would use whatever means necessary to bend her to his will.

'He's already bent you over something.' The wicked voice chimed in reminder.

The dialogue they definitely didn't have that first night flashed through her mind and with it a carnal heat flushed through her chest and down her body. She pulled the brush from her hair, looking at the disheveled expression and glassy eyes on her face in the reflection of the bathroom mirror.

She still had dreams of the way he'd demanded her affections that night. He'd pulled her from her feminine annoyance and questions with a yank on her wrist and ducked behind the closest thing he could find. Her back ended up arched against a tree with his fingers in a deliciously wicked place that was definitely inappropriate in a public place.

And anyone could have walked up on them!

The thought had her huffing in embarrassment and slamming the brush on the bathroom countertop, her cheeks burning in mortification at the 'could haves'.

After he'd pulled a release from her body it was like a bucket of cold water was doused down her back and she had stopped him and ran like the fires of hell were licking her feet.

She had thought that would be the last of him she'd see. Why would someone that attractive really keep following her around, he could have any mate he wanted, but she was shocked and terrified the next morning to see him lounging on the sofa in her office, looking to world like he owned the space.

And then he'd opened his mouth and it all went to shit.

Felicity rolled her eyes at the thought, her frustration with the man mounting. She was starting to think he actually enjoyed the chase. He would show up at her work with sly smirks and try to seduce her from her life every chance he got.

She didn't know how much longer she could resist the pull.

"Stay strong." She told her reflection, patting her cheeks and storing her brush away.

It was pretty late and she was just finishing her evening routine, her night time attire a simple MIT shirt with cotton shorts that were washed one too many times, their length scandalous for any other occasion than sleeping. She was mid-step to her bedroom from the bathroom when she heard the knock, and without any other indicator she just knew who was on the other side of the barrier.

She'd been strongly in tune with him since their first encounter.

"Fe-li-city," he called through the wood, his tone simultaneously hitching her heart and evoking her temper from its slumber.

He was showing up at her home now?! If he thought he was just going to march to her apartment and get his way then he was in for an unpleasant reality check. Felicity didn't become as successful as she was in the world by just letting people walk all over her.

'I'm sure he'd rather rub all over you.' The wicked thought peaked from her mind, the image it conjured having her breath stuttering in her chest.

While she certainly wouldn't mind him rubbing his body on her's she had to make sure they were on the same page.

Oliver was demanding, possessive, and brooding. He was the exact opposite of Felicity in almost every way, and she was hard pressed to even buy into the whole 'mate' thing. Oliver undeniably stirred feelings within her, and it scared Felicity to think this man who showed up in her like like a whirlwind could do so much damage so easily.

She was ashamed to admit that her own insecurities played a large part in her unease.

She wasn't blind, and the rest of the female—and male—population were equally aware of his physique. It was hard not to notice him, his very body commanded attention, and while she sat back and watched the females flutter around him the pit of doubt would eat at her heart. Whispering dark thoughts of inequity, wondering why he would be with her when he could have someone as equally stunning.

That brought her full circle to the whole 'mate' thing.

She stomped to the door, flinging it open and seeing—how could she not, he took up the whole space practically—Oliver standing with his hands braced on the doorframe, leaning forward and almost in her small apartment just in the time she'd opened it. His gaze was hungry and her hopes of her body controlling itself were dashed when an embarrassing shiver raced down her spine at his sudden nearness. She could smell the pines on him again and wondered what brand of cologne he used, it made her weak in the knees.

From the look on Oliver's face he knew he had her.

"Can I help you?" She asked with an arched brow. He could come to her apartment and order her around till he was purple in the face, but she wasn't going to let him dictate her life.

"Can I come in?" He countered, and Felicity noticed he wasn't asking.

He could be such a shit.

She angled her body to the side, throwing her arm in an obnoxious arch. "I don't need my neighbors staring." She told him firmly. She wasn't going to just let him think he could do whatever he liked with her. Especially in front of her door. 'What is with him and public places?!'

Instead of walking past her like she thought he would he took a large step forward and crowded her backwards, closing the door with a hand behind his back while his other came to the small of hers, pulling her smaller body abruptly into his much taller one. The air left Felicity in a strangled breath, her hands flying up to wrap around his biceps to steady herself.

"Oliver!" Her traitorous brain couldn't muster up the indignation she wanted to feel from the possessive behavior, his name leaving her lips as an airy gasp.

This was another reason she'd been avoiding him without another person present. She couldn't keep her hands to herself once he started taking liberties with her, and when they were alone it was so much harder to make herself stop. It's not like she wanted to, that's why it was so difficult. So, like a child she would use Caitlin as a shield and work as a ruse to keep herself busy. She didn't think Oliver had noticed the behavior, but apparently her cold shoulder was a little too cold lately and he had decided to take the conversation to her home.

This wasn't even a conversation she wanted to have, or was ready to have. It was a dangerous game she was playing with her heart, and she knew she would be the one burned in the end.

Felicity's track record with men left something to be desired, and the general rule of thumb was the higher you climbed the harder you fall.

And Oliver took her to really high places.

And she really didn't want to fall.

"I told you I'll catch you," Oliver bit out at her, and Felicity's face twisted in indignation. He sounded as frustrated as she was and as he took another step closer to her she knew just how hard his… dilemma was. She snickered at the thought, seeing his eyes darkening further in anger.

It was a steaming stare he pinned her down with.

"Why are you avoiding me?" He growled, cutting through the conversation and lowering his voice to that predator octave that never failed to make her body ache for his.

"I'm not," she denied hotly, feeling a flush starting in her chest her heart a heavy pounding that made the air in her ears buzz.

"You are!" He barked, backing her against the wall and caging her in, putting his nose at the base of her throat and dragging a gasp from her in a move that happened faster than Felicity could process.

She felt like she could barely breathe, her body only able to make desperate inhales. Her heart pumped the heat through her body in a charged zap, sending a blaze through her system that was still too new and overpowering. It was irrational, unexplainable, and a terrifying mystery that needed to be solved. She felt like she couldn't solve this though. Oliver was a force of his own, challenging her constantly and making her question everything she thought she wanted.

This thing between them was palpable, but Felicity had her doubts if it was sustainable.

His ran his nose up the column of her throat, stopping at her jawline and hovering over the smooth skin. "Why do you push me away?" He demanded slowly, the caress making her bite her lip to keep from making any embarrassing noises. He knew what he did to her body, it was one of the unnamed powers Oliver had and she couldn't resist as he turned his head and placed a kiss gently on her throat.

"Why do you run from me?" He asked, moving his hand from the wall to bury in her undone hair, tilting her head back and pulling his face away from her neck to stare into her soul with his piercing eyes.

Felicity couldn't even remember what his first question was. And she was also suddenly wondering what underwear she was wearing.

'Dammit Felicity get your head in the game!' That's right she can resist him. She had to keep telling herself that.

"Do you not feel me?" Oliver asked instead, the question punctuated with a knee slipping between her own and Felicity felt her breath hitch and an embarrassing moan slipping from her lips.

Oh, she could feel him alright.

All she could focus on was him.

From the way his blue eyes burned into her own to the jean clad leg that was wedge between hers in a glorious pressure. The possessive way he held her body against his makes her eyes flicker to his lips, watching as they tilted in a small smirk.

The temptation was all Oliver and it called to Felicity with a tune that was hard to ignore.

"I know you do." Oliver told her, tilting her head back further and claiming her lips in a powerful kiss while the hand supporting him against the wall fell down along her bare leg, his grip hiking her up along the line of his hip. The callouses in his fingers set sparks to her skin. His hands were hot against the sensitive flesh of her thighs, the new angle bringing the junction of her hips tightly to his own. Her small shorts were struggling to stay somewhat decent and his thick jeans left nothing to the imagination, it took her breath away.

The sudden touch spurred Felicity to move, and without hesitating she found her hands tangling in the short hair on Oliver's head, holding on as he took control of her body.

Her legs locked around his hips with little help, his hand splayed possessively around the underside of her thigh, the tightening of his fingers sending a pulsing need through her body. He was a torch to her soul and his dominance was an intoxicating drug she could get lost in.

He devoured her mouth with teasing nips and unapologetic need. The way he possessed her mouth with his own translated to all her feminine parts, the embarrassing dampness he conjured from her body a physical ache she swore she could feel to the very tips of her toes.

Felicity could feel the wall at her back disappear and the hand in her hair travel to the opposite leg locked around his waist. He gripped her thighs tightly and pulled her flush against his chest as he walked them to what she assumed was the closest surface, her mind, and hands, and mouth, otherwise occupied.

All she could do was feel to the sensations as his hands slipped slowly from her thighs to slide up her hips. His fingers left a hot trail, the digits skimming over her flesh in a seductive caress, deftly slipping into the hem of her small tank top and feeling the warm skin beneath. He paused at her gasp and Felicity couldn't help the pitiful moan than slipped past her lips, her chest heaving against his and her hands dropping to his own shirt.

As the fullness of his roughened palm came to rest unhindered against her bare back Felicity couldn't help the sudden arch, her senses going into overdrive.

And she was suddenly remembering flashes from their earlier conversations, his demanding her submission, the way he would growl of dangerous things to justify his behavior, trying to keep her from hanging out with her friends without him and feeling the anxious pit of fear bubbled in her gut.

She took a gasping breath to clear her mind, pushing her hands against Oliver's shoulders and stopping him immediately. He pulled away with a growl, rolling his shoulders and looking down at her with a passionate anger.

"Why do you always push me away? You're my mate!"

She finally couldn't take it anymore, the tension at holding it all together snapping. With him so close, and her so charged, she didn't have time to think about what she was saying before the words came tumbling out of her mouth in a mad rush.

"Oliver, come on! You come tearing in here telling me I'm your mate and think I'm just going to accept that! This is my life, and you're not going to just come barging in and take control of me! I cant let you posses me like that! I can't let myself get lost like that!" She was breathing hard by the time she was done, the pent up emotions pounding in her chest with hollow hurt, a cold settling slowly in the silent wake of her outburst.

Oliver's eyes flashed a defiant blue, his hands releasing her roughly, making her legs lock quickly to keep her from falling on the floor. He growled down at her, towering over her smaller frame and keeping her attention on only him. "You are my mate." He told her dangerously and Felicity could feel her patients waning.

"Oliver this archaic notion you have won't fly with me. I make my own decisions, I fight my own battles, I don't need someone to come in and dictate my life! I need a partner. An equal. You don't tell me anything about yourself. I feel borderline crazy for believing the little bit you have told me." The truth to her words rang clear, and though she would later wish she could have had an actual conversation and not such a heated revelation, she was unapologetic.

Oliver would have to want Felicity for herself, and this was her.

He growled and took a quick step back, looking away from her gaze and glaring at wall above her head. He clenched his fists at his side, his thumb running over his finger in an agitated gesture she noticed for the first time.

"I do the things I do to keep you safe," he justified cryptically.

"You do the things you do to keep yourself safe. Keeping me in the dark doesn't keep me safe." She rebutted hotly. "Need I remind you Oliver that I met you two weeks ago, and you're not my mate."

It was a tense stare off, his anger challenging her own.

With a furious curse Oliver spun on his heel, the blood in his veins itching for a fight, for him to run, to yell, to do something. His mate was denying him, and his geas were burning in heated warning, the sensory overload a physical force he was unfamiliar with.

He had to get out of this small room with her, the scent that constantly tortured his soul, begging him to stay, while the woman behind it scorned him.

Felicity gasped as Oliver turned away from her, her eyes widening at the expression that flashed briefly before he suddenly took off with a curse, ignoring her as she called out his name.

"Oliver!" She demanded again, her hand outstretched and trying to grasp his arm. He was faster than her though, evading her grasping hand with a twist of his arm and marching through her front door, slamming it hard behind him.

The echoing sound left a deafening silence in the room, and Felicity felt her heart sinking.

This had really not gone well, and she couldn't pretend like she hadn't seen the flash of hurt before he doused it in anger.

She sank to the floor with a groan, sinking her face into her hands.

"Mother Frack!"

* * *

"You look like hell."

Felicity didn't even look away from the computer screen to acknowledge Caitlin.

She felt like hell.

The hurt expression on Oliver's face had haunted Felicity every time she'd closed her eyes, keeping her from any semblance of sleep. It made her heart ache in ways that were irrational. She shouldn't feel bad for him! He was the one trying to control her—he was the one trying to twist her will. Here she was scared he would break her heart and then last night he looks at her like she broke his. It was a sick joke and she wondered, not for the first time, why her words had hurt him so badly.

He never treated her like anything other than a mate, his gaze always a heated one on her skin, and while that term might mean something to him it certainly only seemed like one thing to Felicity. She wasn't looking for a partner that would treat her sexual needs and ignore her emotional ones. She wasn't a doll.

'Maybe now not even a mate.' The cynic in her mocked.

The expression on his face flashed as a reminder and she groaned into her hands, rubbing her face.

"Hey, are you okay?" Caitlin asked, stepping forward and dragging a chair over to sit by the girl.

Felicity look up from a crack between her fingers shaking her head with a groan, "Oh Caitlin, I think I really screwed up!" The admittance was met with a consoling pat on the back.

"It couldn't have been that bad." Caitlin tried to placate, a small sympathetic smile on her face.

Felicity was shaking her head, slamming her hands on the table.

"I don't understand that man!" She explained suddenly and Caitlin didn't need to be told which man it was they were talking about. She had been loudly chastising Felicity for weeks now for using her as a shield to prevent getting too close to him.

It was pathetic to see a grown woman so scared of some hot sex! She didn't understand!

Now wasn't the time though, her friend was hurting and needed help fixing whatever she had screwed up. "Oliver will forgive you for whatever it is, and you need to talk to him, explain what's going on in your head."

Felicity ducked her head guiltily.

She had tried to but it had all come out so horribly wrong. Maybe Caitlin was right and she was scared of sex. She didn't think she was scared of sex, but sex with Oliver definitely made her nervous. If she could have just collected her courage they would have talked a while back and then maybe they wouldn't be in this mess.

Hot kisses and inappropriate touching flashed through her mind and she felt her cheeks warming.

Then again, there was a reason they hadn't talked much lately.

Felicity pulled a deep breath in and on the exhale sat up strait in her chair, smiling at Caitlin. "You're right. I'll just try to apologize and explain everything when I see him again." She told her friend, and she really would. Oliver needed to know where she was coming from and she needed to give him a chance to tell her where he was in all this.

"That's the spirit!" Caitlin encouraged with a smile. "And on that note, I was coming in here originally to tell you Ray Palmer is stopping by today to see the development on the Mono Battery." She informed Felicity, standing from her chair and dragging it back to its original spot.

Felicity nodded with a smile and pointed to the small digits on her watch. "Two more hours!" She was ready to show him the equipment, he was a major investor after all. Caitlin left her office with a smile and backwards wave, heading back to the lab housed in the basement of Smoak Solutions.

The silence descended on Felicity again, and shaking her head to clear her thoughts she cracked her fingers, starting in on the therapeutic tapping of the keys. Oliver and his hurt expression finally escaping her mind for a few minutes.

So consumed in her work as she was, Felicity failed to see the person enter her office, their head cocked as they watched her type furiously on her keyboard.

"Felicity." Her name and the voice behind it had her jumping up, staring in shock at Oliver looking sheepish before her. His eyes slid to the plain couch she had in her office and then back to her. "Can we talk?" He asked while nodding to the furniture.

Oh no, she knew nothing good ever came from the can we talk conversations.

With her head ducked in hesitance Felicity slowly crept around her desk, edging to the couch Oliver was sitting himself on and slipping her own body to the far edge. He was sitting forward, his arms crossed against his knees and his eyes looking off in front of him.

She didn't know where to look so she just angled her body towards him, watching his face and waiting for him to begin.

The silence stretched longer and Felicity could feel a knot form in her throat. Maybe he expected her to apologize? She did say some things pretty loud, she meant them but it wasn't like she was trying to lash out at him. She opened her mouth to apologize, "Im so—"

"Don't." Oliver interrupted, stopping her and clenching his fist. "Don't apologize to me."

Felicity could feel her brow furrow, "Oliver?"

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, cutting her concern short and commanding her full attention. "I want a lot of things from you Felicity, I'm a possessive man, and you're my mate." She could feel her heart hitching in her chest, waiting with baited breath to hear what would follow, what his expectations of her were, if she could even concede to it. "I might be a predator, but there is always a hunter, and I can't let anything happen to you. Never to you. I've never felt this way before." Every word was slow, meaning behind them all.

He turned his head towards her, his eyes open and face serious, "I don't want to control your life. I want to share it." Her heart felt like it was going to flutter out of her chest. "I only want to be with you as my mate."

It was like his words were a balm to the burn. She felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. He seemed at least interested in her on more than just a physical level.

But they were still going to have to take it slow.

"You know," he started with a cheeky grin, the expression melting and igniting her heart in the same instant, "I'm just as much your mate."

Felicity felt a fiery possession of her own flare to life.

He had a point, he was hers, and she wanted to touch.

Now.

"Fuck slow," she muttered hurriedly, a need surging through her veins.

The sudden intensity had her standing from her seat and bounding the small step towards the surprised man.

She smiled through her lashes down at him, bending slowly and grabbing his crossed wrists, spreading his arms open to her and slipping into his lap to settle on the cushions around his hips, spreading herself against him. She looked into his shocked expression with a smile, his body fully backed into the couch with the force of her descent on him.

Oliver was a quick man though, and he was ready as Felicity's mouth eagerly sought his, their lips colliding with a jolt of pleasure that went strait to his groin. His fingers twitched in her grip as he slid them from her slack grasp, and unable to keep them to himself he ran them along the length of her exposed skin, up her thighs and over the glorious swell of her ass.

He was unable to help himself from squeezing and pulling her body closer, the natural grinding of the hard parts from his body against the softness of hers causing their kiss to break with a desperate moan slipping from Felicity's lips.

When she threw her head back, his name a breath on her lips, Oliver felt his thin control snap.

Within seconds he had them flipped, his body pressing tightly into hers, the calloused hands riding up to the hem of her tight skirt still managing to miraculously hide skin from view. Felicity couldn't help the gasp that ripped from her throat, the power behind his hands a dark promise she wanted to explore. He pushed the fabric up the swell of her thighs, feeling Felicity roll into his hips in response, and pulling a groan from his own throat as he responded in kind, the friction heightening her desire.

Felicity's hands came up to frame his face and glide to the back of his head, pulling him in for another heated kiss, her ankle twisting over the one he had between hers.

It was all the encouragement Oliver needed, and he could feel himself sinking fully into the woman. It was the first time she had been so responsive towards him, and Oliver wasn't going to waist a moment with his mate.

As he allowed the passion to consume him he felt a tickle on the edge of his senses, warning him with just enough time to rip his mouth from Felicity's with an inaudible growl and cold glare at the door. He slipped his hand from her skirt and pulled the fabric down with an inhuman speed in the same second the door swung open, the ever perfectly timed Ray Palmer popping his head around the corner.

His stupid, smiling face made direct eye contact with Oliver's angry glare, and Ray felt a strange, ominous dread, creep down his spine before his mind even had a chance to catch up to what he was actually looking at. Felicity hadn't notice the intrusion and Ray would have be concerned for the girl caged under the angry man if she wasn't clearly fine.

Movement from Oliver made Ray's eyes flicker from Felicity back to the larger man, watching as Oliver's scowl slowly tilted at the corners in a devious expression. His eyes never left Ray's, the silent challenge unmistakable.

It was a fight Ray didn't want to stick around for, and he thought he'd seen enough. He didn't even need to see what he had.

Ray made a choking noise, cheeks staining a deep red before he spun on his heel and made his hasty escape, shutting the door louder than necessary in his panicked scramble.

Felicity felt her whole body freeze as the sound shot through the room like an explosion.

"What was that?" She asked quietly, her body tensed in anticipation.

She didn't know who had just caught a peep, but she knew they had quite the show. Her, with her legs wrapped around Oliver's waist. Him, with his hand on her thighs in such a way that left no doubt of his intention.

There would be no cunning explanation for this one.

"Palmer." Oliver clipped out, ignoring the mortified groan coming from the woman beneath him.

"Oh no!" She wailed, removing her hands from his body and bringing them to cover her face. "Why does this always happen with him?!"

Oliver growled and leaned all of his weight on her, wrestling a strangled shriek out of her and staring down at her from the corner of his eye. "This had better not happen with him," he supplied.

Felicity slid her eyes to the door and then slowly back to Oliver, a suspicion lighting in them.

"Did you hear him coming?" She asked, seeing the smug glint shine defiantly back at her.

"No." He said with a lying smile and Felicity gasped loudly at the man, staring at the rebellious satisfaction.

She knew she shouldn't encourage it, but she couldn't help it. With the aftershock of their make-out still tingling her skin and her heart feeling so light she couldn't find it in her to be so angry, a silly laugh slipping from her throat instead.

She smiled up at Oliver and lightly giggling when he flashed her the softest smile she'd ever seen, the beauty of it taking her breathe away.

She reached up and grabbed his face, kissing him soundly.

They might still have a way to go, and Oliver still had a lot of things he was keeping from her, but for the first time Felicity didn't feel so scared to see what there was to this possessive and geas bound man.

Maybe being his mate wouldn't be so bad.


	3. Chapter 3

Special thanks to my beta Fairytalehearts!

Geas Wolf

* * *

Felicity was floating in an endless sensation of euphoria.

Her vision was hazy, her breath coming out in panting gasps. Her skin felt hot and electric, and she was unable to focus on anything.

Oliver was hovering above her, his shoulders hunched as he lowered his mouth to her neck.

He trailed a hot wake of kisses down the smooth column sloping to the hollow of her shoulder, the stubble on his roughened jaw made her bite her lip with a moan. She reached her hands up with her fingers outstretched, twining them around the wrists braced by her head, unable to keep her hips from squirming impatiently under him.

She couldn't help but languidly trail her fingers around the trunk of his wrist, running them up along the cords of his arms, feeling the waxing and waning of the muscles beneath the hot skin.

Felicity didn't even try to stop the whimper from slipping through her lips as he continued his slow torturous path, his shoulders bending and bringing their bare chest together. The electric sizzle from the sudden contact almost made her brain zap off, her heart sending waves of pulsing desire to her core. Her fingers slid along the hunch of his shoulders and down the wide expansion of his back, the muscles tensing under her touch, his body moving with a grace she could never imitate.

He gently nipped her neck in response and Felicity couldn't help but arch so he could have more access, moaning as he complied to her silent demand.

Thoughts were nonexistent, she was only a creature of sensation. From the heat deliciously pulsing through her body to the tight ball of need demanding release.

Oliver smirked against her skin and she knew he was well aware of her reaction to him, her fingers digging into the flesh on his back in warning. She didn't want to be teased, she wanted to be ravished.

Luckily Oliver was a passionate man and he didn't leave her pining long as he slid his hand to the bare patch of her hip, his rough calluses causing her skin to stand in attention, her hips jerking forward in a spasm she couldn't control.

Oliver's name fell from her lips in a frenzied passion and just as he reached the spot that burned the hottest—her eyes shot open, wide and unfocused on the white ceiling above her.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, her lungs taking in heaving gasps to steady the nerves she swore she could feel smoldering along her flesh. Her skin felt overly sensitive, too hot to be in, and a painful need had her clenching her fists in frustration, her knees clamping together unconsciously. Her body felt damp in the morning air, a combination of the slight sheen of perspiration dusting her skin to the unmistakable need in her gut.

Felicity groaned loudly into the silence, flinging the too hot sheets from her drenched body and bringing her hands up over her eyes.

This was so not happening to her.

She couldn't stop dreaming about Oliver!

These dreams were never a sweet loving montage filled with flowers and smiles—oh no—these were raunchy and rigid. All of her hearts dirty little desires wrapped in a wicked bow. They consumed her thoughts and as much as Felicity loved dreaming about Oliver it still left her feeling irritable and edgy for the entirety of the day.

She felt like she was having withdrawal symptoms from him, her body needing him in a way that she couldn't understand. Of course Oliver had, for all intents and purposes, disappeared since that day in her office. For three days now he was completely absent in her life. He seemed to have just vanished, and Felicity couldn't explain why, but she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that followed her around.

They had left on a good note that day, Oliver stealing a few more kisses from her before he'd untangled their limbs and left her to her work, going off and doing who knew what.

Then he was just gone.

Felicity learned early how private Oliver was, rarely speaking of himself, but she realized just how little of him she knew when she suddenly couldn't find him. He hadn't given her a card or number or even a street address to reach him if she needed to. She was mildly disturbed that she hadn't noticed the slip until she couldn't reach him.

The first night she'd driven herself crazy, staying up late into the evening, halfheartedly watching the reruns of Dr. Who with an angry eye sliding to the door more times than she'd like to admit. As the clock ticked by her anger abated, leaving a hollow loneliness behind. She hadn't realizing just how much she'd come to enjoy his company every day, and even though he pushed her every button she couldn't deny the way her heart would skip a beat seeing him standing in a doorway, smirking at her in his unrivaled confidence.

Felicity still wasn't sure how she felt about the whole 'mate' situation. Oliver, however, seemed so sure of himself and her place in his life that she doubted he would just abandon her like that. She didn't think a man could fake a conviction like that. Granted she'd only known Oliver for a couple weeks, but he'd always sought her out, and she'd given him plenty of reason to continue doing so that day on the couch.

The reminder steamed her blood again with a hot blush staining her already heated body.

On the second day when Oliver was absent she felt a creeping apprehension settle in her chest. The sudden late night dreams didn't help her any, and it was a constant reminder of the hole in her life.

' _A hole he can fill_.' Her mind whispered to her, flashes of her dream searing across her closed lids.

"No," Felicity groaned into the room, rolling onto her stomach and burying her head in her pillow.

This was how it had been going the past few days, and now on day four if she didn't find Oliver she was going to kill him. She couldn't keep going on like this.

By the time day three rolled around she was loath to admit it was full worry, though she buried it under anger to get through the day. Where the frack was he?!

"Damn you," she muttered as she pushed herself up and off the bed. There was no point in trying to get anymore sleep, it would just wind her up tighter and she would rather not be so needy the rest of the day.

Felicity walked the short distance to her bathroom, rubbing her tired eyes along the way and grabbing a fresh towel.

First thing first, she needed a shower.

And then coffee.

It was day four now, and by mid-morning Felicity still hadn't seen or heard so much as a whisper from Oliver.

So she did the only thing that could make her feel better and took her anxious ways to the internet, the technology the only solace she had with him gone. She wasn't looking for anything in particular, and with how little she knew of Oliver she knew she wouldn't find him in any database. The codes could calm her mind though, but as she launched her computer she found herself opening her browser and typing slowly into the search bar.

Her results popped up, only a few articles on the matter and so she clicked on the first title, the headline reading: 'The Great Geas Wolf'

She knew google wasn't going to help her find her boyfriend—was he her boyfriend? They hadn't talked about that, but if Oliver could call her his mate then she figured she could call him her boyfriend. The article seemed to be shrouded in more opinions and guesses than facts. Logically there wouldn't be a lot of facts about geas-wolves, but she figured the internet would have more to offer than this.

The theories varied from page to page, some more outlandish than others. From ancient curses that turned man to immoral to wicked stories of shape shifters that came from hell to steal maiden souls.

Felicity scoffed to herself. The only thing Oliver had been trying to steal were her lips, and dammit if she wanted him to! And he wasn't there!

Felicity groaned and pushed the keyboard away, folding in on herself and burrowing her face in the crook of her arms. She couldn't wrap her mind around anything work related. Caitlin had already come in three times to see if she had signed the papers to proceed with the battery Ray was investing in. That was a whole other disaster there, her and Ray. He wouldn't look her in the eye anymore and always shuffled out of the room as soon as he could. Felicity couldn't help the mortified flush at just why he was acting so off.

Her thoughts flashed to the way Oliver's hands had skimmed up her thighs and she clenched them beneath her desk, the dream on the tail end of the memory and making her bite her lip.

She couldn't do this; it was time to change the scenery. She would just go get a cup of coffee and clear her head. She managed to make it this far in life without Oliver and she could continue to do so without him. With an upward flourish she rose from her chair, holding her head high and grabbing her keys and purse from her desk drawer.

Oliver had another thing coming if he thought he was just going to get away with this.

'Who does he think he is?' She grumbled to herself while walking out of her office, turning towards the long corridor that led to the main entrance. Smoak Solutions was a small company, a modest two story building that had a basement they kept the lab in. She and Caitlin had started the company almost as a pet project and it was now her life work to bring the latest in innovations to the mass public. They were finally starting to make way with Ray Palmer as a major investor, but Felicity couldn't even focus on the simple paperwork they still needed to send to legal.

Her heels clomped down the hall as she dashed towards the exit, wanting to avoid bumping into anyone on her way out. Caitlin already thought something was wrong with her, and if she started probing Felicity didn't know if she could keep her mouth shut. She couldn't tell Caitlin Oliver's secret, but she knew she would have to tell her something as reason for her recent moodiness.

The blast of fresh air had Felicity letting her own sigh out, her shoulders slumping. She just wished she knew something about what was going on with Oliver right now, everything felt off without him around and she just knew something was wrong.

Maybe his special magic really did connect them? Not like connect them, connect them, though she wouldn't have a problem connecting with him in a couple of different positions.

She coughed to cut her trailing thoughts off, her cheeks heating in embarrassment. It had been like this all day! She couldn't get any work done with Oliver on the mind and she wished he would just show back up already.

"Coffee, I just need some coffee and back to work." The assurance was firm, steeling her reserve. The red top of her mini cooper came into view and she unlocked the door with seamless ease. The bag was thrown into the passenger seas and the engine was revving within seconds. She reached out and grasped her gear shift when a sudden hand darted out and snagged on her wrist.

Felicity tensed with a sudden inhale of air, ready to scream her head off when a strangled cough cut her off.

"Felicity."

Her inhale choked out, her head whipping around eyes large in her face and seeing Oliver hunched over in her back seat, though how he managed to fit his massive body into that space was a mystery. He definitely didn't look comfortable. As she squinted around his arm, pulling him forward to get a better look, she felt a gasp rip from her throat, her adrenaline spiking.

"Oliver!" she looked frantically at his side, noticing initially how hunched he was, his arm banded around tight around his stomach. He looked like he was in pain and if Felicity wasn't mistaken, then that was definitely blood.

Oliver was here after days missing. Here in her small car. Bleeding in her small car!

"Oliver what happened?!" Felicity cried out, not knowing what to do, she couldn't help him in this small car and he looked like he needed to see a doctor. She spun around, her hand reaching for the gearshift again when Oliver snatched her wrist back again. "No. No Hospitals." He told her quietly, and she nodded her head, calculating quickly how quickly she could get to her apartment from here. If traffic was light she co—

"Felicity," Oliver pulled her from her thoughts, seeing the gears going into overdrive in her head. Her eyes were watching him with panic and he reached out, handing her a crumpled paper an address written in shaky letters. "Go to that address." He told her simply, laying his head back and breathing through his nose.

Felicity knew immediately where this was.

"Oliver that's an abandoned warehouse!" She told him franticly waving the paper in her hand. She furrowed her brow at his small head shake.

"It has everything I need there," he told her, his face twitching and eyes closing, she could see him taking deep breaths and the knot in her stomach demanded she do something. So going against everything she thought she knew Felicity nodded her head quickly, seeing how out of it Oliver was.

He was always so secure and strong around her, and she was shocked to see him so hurt and weak. She thought that he was a geas wolf? What did that even mean if he got hurt like this? Whatever this even was, Felicity couldn't tell the severity of the damage, but she could definitely see the blood staining the back of her seats now, her heart jumping into her throat.

She spun and set the car into reverse before tearing from her spot, heading to the warehouse. The drive was surprisingly quick, and by the time they arrived Oliver's breath was notably heavier.

Felicity parked where he pointed and had the car parked and door swinging open in a flash.

With her help they got Oliver out of the car, and she bit her lip as her hand came to support his back and her fingers slipped against his leather jacket. slipped, and she realized just how badly Oliver was bleeding.

"Oliver what's going on? Why are you so hurt?" He was supporting the majority of his bodyweight on her, his shoulder hunched forward in such a way that she knew he had to be hurt pretty badly. "What happened?" She asked frantically as they walked to the inconspicuous door secured on the side of the building.

He grunted and looked down at her with a smirk, the crinkle in the corner of his eye and the labored breathing the only indicator that gave his pain away. "Were you worried about me?" He asked cheekily, helping her push the door open and walking into the abandoned space. A small part of her was relieved. If he could still tease her it must mean he would at least be okay.

Felicity felt her brow furrowing at his smiling face. "Of course I was worried." She told him simply, and his smile softened, the hand slung over her shoulder squeezing slightly.

"I'll be fine," he told her through a pant, nodding his head towards the back of the warehouse. "The basement entrance is back there."

Felicity looked around the deserted buildings they walked through, feeling more than a bit uneasy. She certainly hoped Oliver wasn't sleeping here. The warehouse was as abandoned as she thought it would be, the rafters bent at odd angles looking as if they'd caved in years ago. Sun shinned in harsh beams through the rusted holes in the ceiling, the unsettled dust rippling through the light creating an ominous vibe. Her eyes slid to the corners and sure enough the remnants of old pallets and trash were arranged in such a way she knew at least a couple of homeless people had bunkered in the space before.

She didn't know what Oliver had here that she didn't have at her apartment, but if he took her to a dark corner and started muttering crazy things to himself then she was going to have herself committed for even letting herself get this far.

They reached the basement door quickly and Felicity was shocked to see a modern security lock on a much nicer looking door. Oliver reached up and flipped a box open, revealing a keypad and typed a code it, the indicator light turning green and a second later Felicity heard the lock unlatch and the door popped open an inch.

"Woah." She muttered, not expecting that in the lease.

She slid her eyes back to Oliver, seeing his smirk at her disbelief. He nodded towards the door and pushed it open with her free hand, seeing stairs that led to darkness.

"The lights are at the bottom," Oliver supplied and with a determined breath Felicity straightened her shoulders. With a slowness that made her concerned for his bleeding they managed to safely get Oliver's bulking body down the steps, and Felicity felt a surprised gasp leave her throat as he flipped the switch at the bottom of the steps, illuminating a freaking layer hidden in the depths of the dumpy building.

She wasn't able to take it all in though as Oliver took a step forward, taking them to the table centered in the middle of the space, seating himself heavily into the stool with a grunt, unable to prevent the slow slouch forward.

"I'm going to need your help," he told her through clenched teeth, pointing at various cabinets and sending her to retrieve the medical supplies.

Oliver was shuffling behind her as she gather her hand full and turned, dumping her supplies ungracefully on the table, ignoring the loud clattering echo it created. She looked up at Oliver to see what he wanted her to do next and felt her breath freeze in her chest.

He was in the middle of pulling his tattered shirt off, the jacket already slug over the chair beside him. She felt her eyes travel along the lines of his body greedily while he pulled the shirt over his head, the muscles rippling and inviting her to come touch. She felt herself trying to swallow with a sudden dry throat, the exaggerated lines of his hips stretching exotically as he pulled his shirt the final inch. His pants pulled down a fraction of an inch that had her pulse leaping and her nerves tingling.

She hadn't realized she was staring until it was deathly silent, her mind suddenly catching up to what was going on and her eyes darted to his own blazing ones, an eyebrow cocked in amusement. Here she was ogling his body and he was sitting there still bleeding all over the place.

"I, uh," Felicity started, having to stop and clear her throat before trying again, "I think I found everything." She told him with a nervous gesture to the items spread across the table.

Oliver's eyes skimmed over them in assessment, slowly nodding in approval. He ignored her obvious embarrassment and looked at her with a seriousness she knew would be followed by something she wouldn't like.

"Felicity, I'm going to need to you do this for me." He told her, continuing at her hesitant nod, she knew she would have to help him, from the little she'd seen the majority of the damage was on his back, and he wouldn't be able to reach without being in pretty severe pain. She'd never dealt with a serious injury, the most that happened to her being minor cuts, and she was admissibly anxious of her capabilities to do what he was asking of her.

"Just trust me, and everything will be fine." He gently reminded her, seeing the doubt on her face. He was so sure in his words and it was the only thing that gave Felicity the strength, resolving her doubts and straightening her back in an instant. She jumped up with action, scurrying around the table to his back and stopping dead at the sight of that greeted her. Her mouth fell open with a horrified gasp escaping.

"Oliver! What happened?!" She rushed out, her hand reaching out to touch the damage before stopping in mid air.

His back looked grotesque, and her throat felt like someone was squeezing it shut the longer she stared at it.

This was the first time she'd seen Oliver's geas completely, but she couldn't even appreciate the bold lines and intricate arches seeing as there were hooks flayed through the flesh. She felt like she was going to be sick the longer she looked at the curve of the metal barb, the skin pinching and pulling in a way Felicity knew was excruciating. The geas, a once seamless tattoo, were now broken and mangled lines, and Felicity didn't know what that meant for Oliver.

The longer she looked at the wound the more she realized that it was once a larger object than was in his back currently, one that looked like it had a stem or something and was broken now.

"It's a barbed spear," Oliver supplied suddenly in the silence, his voice pained. Felicity didn't even know how he pulled his shirt off with his back like this.

"Oliver, I don't know what you think I can do with this," she slowly told him, her heart thudding in her chest. He needed a doctor. Felicity knew how to do a bandaid—hell, she could bandage him up all day, not the she wanted to bandage him up, but this was definitely not a bandaid situation!

"I'm going to need you to pull it out."

She wondered if he could feel her wide eyes in terror on the back of his head. He wanted her to pull it out? Was he insane?!

"I can't do that!" She cried, her eyes darting back to the spear embedded in his flesh.

"Felicity, I wouldn't ask you to do this if I knew I could do it on my own," he tried to placate, and how he was so steady was a complete mystery to her.

"I don't know if I can do this Oliver," she said, looking at the broken shaft of the spear. Oliver was probably the one who broke it, and that made another twist in her gut churn.

"Once you pull it out, it will be fine." He told her quietly, and Felicity wondered for the first time how much longer he could be conscious for. She was not qualified to do this kind of stuff, she trusted Oliver, but she was just a computer girl. Computers don't bleed.

"We need to go t—" she started, only to be interrupted by Oliver quickly.

"No," he told her unwaveringly, "no doctors, no hospitals. Felicity, we're in the basement of a warehouse. It's for a reason." His words left her feeling cold. Of course she had thought about that, but to hear him say so, to think it was hiding from some kind of danger made her apprehensive. Oliver was coming down here, alone, and for reasons unknown. Felicity's chest physically ached for him. Knowing he trusted her with all this made her resolve strengthen.

"What do I do after I pull it out?" She asked after a short second, letting him know she would do it for him. She noticed the way he leaned further forward, flattening the planes of his back.

"Apply pressure," he clipped, ready to be over with whole ordeal.

Felicity nodded, though he couldn't see it, and turned to grab some gloves. It disgusted her to think why she needed them but she pushed it down. It was time to help Oliver, she had to be strong for him, and she would help him. She watched enough Grey's Anatomy to know what 'apply pressure' meant.

She pulled the gauze closer and turned towards his back, bracing one hand against his shoulder and wiggling her fingers above the small shaft left from the spear.

"Alright McSteamy, do you want me to count down?" Felicity asked him. She saw him turn his head back slightly to look at her, confusion on his face.

"No. Who's Mc-" Oliver cut off suddenly with a pained groan as she reached down and yanked the barb out as hard as she could the second she heard the no slip past his lips. It was her preferred method of inflicting pain.

In a flash she was replacing the barb with gauze, applying pressure and looking at the sweat dripping off Oliver's forehead from over his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly, hoping they were done with the worst part.

"I'll be fine," Oliver waved off, his eyes closed and breath panting. He didn't look fine now, but Felicity supposed she would have to believe him. He hadn't let her down yet. And he did free jump to a free fall with her off a building.

Felicity looked down at her hand applying pressure, the blood slowly soaking into gauze as she ran her eyes along the lines of his geas.

"Will you tell me about them?" She asked into the silence, tapping the uninjured line with the other hand still flat on his shoulder.

His silence made her nervous, feeling oddly like she'd overstepped some line with him. "I read online today that you're a demonic wolf come to eat my maiden soul. Another person said Geas Wolf are immortal beings sent to do the will of God, his personal wolfhound." She ran her eyes around the basement, taking it in for the first time, a small smile curling her lips, "I mean, this is kind of a den too. So that makes sense because you're a dog. Not like woof dog but more, hey he's a dog. And not like dog dog. I'm not calling you a dog."

She could feel Oliver's chuckle, biting her lip to stop herself from continuing.

"You can stop me you know," she muttered, switching the gauze and ignoring the smirk Oliver shot at her.

She started bandaging Oliver's back, deciding to be silent over embarrassing herself when Oliver suddenly spoke, his voice so low she had to lean forward to hear him.

"I'm not immortal," he stated and Felicity waited to see if he would continue. When he didn't after a moment longer she couldn't resist.

"Can you tell me about it?" She asked again softly, her head tilted and almost touching his shoulder.

He turned his face towards her and she felt as if the air was sucked from the room, the moment becoming intently intimate. The world melted away and it was just her and him in each others orbit, the very molecules responding to them. His eyes trailed from her eyes down to her lips, the look smoldering and intense.

"It's a curse." He told her, his eyes never leaving her mouth, "A battle between man and beast." Felicity was afraid to breath for fear of breaking this spell. His voice sent vibrations through her body and her chest creeping dangerously close to his back, to feel his body against hers, to reassure herself.

"The geas give the man extraordinary strength and power," he stated, his voice measured and his eyes slid slowly back to hers, the color sharp, "and the instinct of the wolf drives the man."

"Can you turn into a wolf?" Felicity asked after a second, biting her lip at the way he was looking at her.

The expression on his face changed to contemplation before he opened his mouth again.

"Yes," the admission was slow, his hesitance to tell her measured. "When I've used too much power it becomes mandatory. No irony is lacking for man and his quest for power." He wasn't looking at her when he confessed this, and she couldn't read the emotions on his face. Felicity could feel her eyebrows raising into her hairline and she leaned back, noticing the gauze in her hand was soaked again and replacing it quickly with a new one.

"I don't know what too much blood is Oliver, but are you sure you aren't losing too much?" She asked while reapplying pressure to the large gash. While the flow was slowly ebbing she was nervous still.

"I'll be fine," he reassured her again, "it'll start healing on its own soon"

Felicity couldn't help but smile at that, seeing some humor in it. "Super human healing huh?" She asked.

"Something like that," Oliver grumbled shifting in the stool subtly.

Felicity peeked under her hands again, this time relief flooding her at the sight of the wound no longer oozing. She reached over to the table and pulled the cleaning supplies closer, tearing the gloves off and grabbing a clean rag and spray bottle.

Oliver was practically slouched over completely when she spun back around, his eyes glazed on the floor before him.

"Do you need to lay down?" Felicity asked gently, spraying the rag in her hand and tenderly dabbing it on the streaks long dried on his skin. He would be bruised up, of that she had no doubt. He was beaten up pretty bad, and even as the final swipe of her rag cleaned the flesh anew she was left

"I'm fine." He answered simply but Felicity could see the bags starting under his eyes. She wondered how much power it took for him to stay awake, and then wondered if he was using the geas now.

"Does it have an on-off switch?" She continued to probe, feeling like things about Oliver were starting to make more sense. He was a complex man, that was undeniable. She placed a fresh square of gauze over the cleared wound and secured it with the medical tape.

"Not exactly," he told her, his eyes sliding shut in exhaustion, "it's a part of me. My greatest strength and weakness."

Felicity could read between the lines. "This was intentional?" She asked after a moment, running her fingers gently over the skin of his back, seeing the shudder it caused.

"Even predators are hunted." He told her cryptically, turning his face completely away from her and ending the subject. That was a pretty big revelation to end on to Felicity, but if he didn't want to talk about his enemies yet then she wouldn't push him.

She inspected the wrapping and nodded to herself, walking around to the front of Oliver and taking his hands in her face, smiling at the dopey exhaustion he looked at her with.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said with a smile that quickly dissolved into a startled eep as Oliver pulled her into his body, burying his face in her neck and breathing deeply. She could feel the tension draining from his body as she reached around and hugged him lightly, aware of the wound on his shoulder. They stayed like that a moment longer until Felicity felt the gauze under her fingertips turning wet again. She cursed softly and released him, taking the step around to see the bandage bleeding through.

"This is bleeding through and I don't have anymore bandages." She told him, looking at the surprising amount of soiled rags around and reassuring herself that he said he'd be fine.

"I have some more in the bathroom," he grumbled, and Felicity didn't bother asking for directions. Oliver looked like he was about to fall over so she took off, determined to find them on her own.

The basement was bigger than she expected and by the time she found the bathroom and located the additional supplies more time had elapsed than she'd anticipated.

' _Frack!_ ' Felicity though as she rounded the corner, "Oliver, I'm sorry it took so long I got…" she trailed off slowly, looking around the now empty room. The stool that was occupied by Oliver was empty, and the air around her was silent.

"Oliver?" She called out hesitantly, walking around the seat in slow steps.

As Felicity stepped around the table she noticed something from the the corner of her eye, her head turning fully towards it. Her breath hitched in her throat in the next instant, the sight before her otherworldly. Felicity couldn't explain how she knew, but Oliver, or what she assumed was Oliver was laying in the middle of the room, the halo of light created from a hanging fixture making him appear as if he'd step from some fairy tale.

It felt like a moment in time stopped.

Her world honed in on the creature lying in the center of the floor and something clicked. An idea, a thought, her soul. Everything in her life, every step and decision, leading to Oliver started to click and she felt tears spring to her eyes even before she could make sense of the form before her.

A wolf.

And she knew that wolf.

She took a half step forward, her mouth parting in surprise, her eyes running over the incapacitated body. Oliver had just told her how his geas affected him so she knew it had to be him.

His body was larger than that of a regular wolf, but not by much. His markings were bold, rigged black dashes running along his flanks with a grayish white filling the main coloring, the whole look completed with an angry red gash across the back. In the exact same spot she just pulled a spear from his shoulder. She stood fully before him, her eyes unstaring on his head.

Even without knowing all this Felicity would recognize that wolf.

She'd freed that wolf.

Months ago.


	4. Chapter 4

Oliver awoke in two stages.

His sense of awareness came first, the tickling of the geas cooling on his back triggering the creeping consciousness. He could feel a deep ache in his shoulder where he knew the geas were working overtime to repair the spell, the spiraling arches smoothing over seamlessly as if they'd never been damaged. They were the only part of his body that didn't scar, the many small and large marks decorating the skin a testament to the dangers he'd faced down.

The spear launched at him had been a sneak attack, and Oliver was overwhelmingly angry that he'd been snuck up on—again—and in such a way that he was forced to take the danger right to Felicity. If he could have pulled the damn spear out himself he would've, but the positioning was strategical from his opponent and he was forced to snap the cumbersome shaft and take cover.

The geas had been crippled by the intentional placement of the wound, the ancient ruins severing from their familiar entangled connection, and Oliver had felt the magic desperately trying to repair the damage while he was slowly bleeding out. It was a dangerous position for him to be in, and the only thing he could think about was Felicity. The overwhelming relief at seeing her okay combined with the magic draining from his body had left him weak and disorientated. The last thing he could remember was the warmth of her hand on the uninjured cusp of his shoulder, soothing the adrenaline running through his body.

The sense of body came second to Oliver and with a sudden jolt he was wrenching his body upright, his eyes snapping open and head whipping towards a startled shriek besides him, coming face to face with wide blue eyes.

"Felicity?" He asked, his muddled brain trying to catch up to everything going on. The woman in question startled badly at his sudden wakefulness, the laptop opened on her folded lap flying off and crashing to the floor as she jerked around with a squeak, her hands clapping over her glasses in mortification, checks staining a deep red.

"Oliver! You're awake! Thank goodness, that looked uncomfortably hard. Not you or anything, the floor. Not that you don't look hard. You always look hard. Not that kind of hard! I don't know how hard you are! Oh, why is this happening to me?" Felicity's mouth couldn't stop, the red in her cheeks creeping down her throat and her voice taking a panicked pitch.

Oliver looked down at himself, feeling the cool cement under his chilled body and knowing immediately why she was so flustered. The light sheet she'd dropped over his bare body was shifting dangerously, leaving little to the imagination. A smirk rose on his face as he bent his knee, causing the linen to tangle around his leg and drop precariously low. He slung an arm around his knee and turned suggestively towards Felicity his eyes watching her from the slight tilt of his head.

It was just too easy sometimes.

"We're you watching me sleep?" He teased, rewarded with a side-eye that he couldn't take seriously. He ignored the warning pull in his shoulder, the geas still furiously working under his skin. Felicity's eyes darted away from his and her expression shifted, her gaze avoiding his and looking at a distance over his shoulder. With a sinking feeling twisting in his gut Oliver realized what she must have seen.

The smirk slowly slipped from his lips.

His state of undress was a pretty clear indication of his transformation. The geas must have forced him to shift, and he was so delirious in his last minutes of consciousness that he couldn't remember much.

For so long Oliver had been forced to hide his true form, and though Felicity was his mate—and he never had any intention of hiding his form from her—this was not how he wanted to go about introducing his wolf to her. He could only imagine the many different scenarios running through her head while he was sleeping, and he didn't know which one he was more prepared for.

Felicity looked down at the floor and slowly raised her eyes to his, her expression imploring, fixing on him with such intensity.

Oliver didn't know how she was feeling, what she was going to say to him, but the words that came from her mouth weren't what he was expecting.

"I know you." Felicity told him, and his body stilled in his intense focus, carefully watching her body language and listening to the patterns of her heartbeat. Her words were immobilizing and he was quiet, not yet knowing what to say and let her speak.

"It was you that night." She wasn't asking him, and Oliver couldn't deny the claim while he waited, ever watching her.

This was the moment, their moment. Here on a cold cement floor it would be the beginning or the end of them. Oliver had been accused of being many things in his existence, but a coward was never one of them. He would never cower away from this woman, and he would never let her run from him.

He wouldn't let this be their end.

"I let you go, is that why you follow me around?" She asked, her face serious.

Oliver felt his brows furrowing. Did she think he only came after her because she found him that night?

"Is that why you call me your mate? Because you were wounded, and I was nice?" Felicity asked with a steady tone, her eyes never breaking from his. There was a heavy weight in the air and Oliver was sharp. A small frown tugged at the corners of his mouth.

The anger at himself for not showing her the wolf beat at his chest.

For this very reason he'd been putting off confiding in her, and this was one of the worst ways for her to discover him. Oliver knew how it must look to her. Felicity was already nervous around him, and to say she was a little skeptical about his claim was an understatement. He knew she would think he only followed her out of some twisted sense of loyalty, but that wasn't what drew him to her.

He couldn't let her think that in the least.

Oliver moved, reaching up and cupping Felicity's face in his large hands, bringing her closer while he shook his head seriously. His eyes were thoughtful as they looked at her, her own turning wide at the sudden closeness.

"You were a ray of light in my dark world," he told her firmly, pulling her a centimeter closer. "You were made for me," his voice was low and she could feel the heat coming from his body at his nearness, her breath stuttering in her chest.

"Your scent called to my soul," he continued, their lips almost touching, the air sizzling with the familiar tension.

Oliver paused to made sure she was looking at him, truly seeing him, his eyes burning keenly into her own.

"I came because _you_ set me free." he finished slowly, leaning forward and closing the remaining distance in a kiss that had a fire igniting in his chest.

The ferocity of his conviction was poured into his kiss, their mouths melding with a simmering passion that shot strait through Oliver. It took his breath away, and he could hear Felicity's heart pick up in her chest, thumping hard and fast. He poured everything he had in her, his hands grasping at the back of her head to keep his perch and even though he knew she was doubtful Oliver still felt as if a weight had been lifted from his chest. She knew every facet of him now, and he would stand with her as she stared him down.

He would fight any obstacle that stood in his way when it came to Felicity, and he wouldn't let her run from him.

* * *

' _Ho-ly Frack!_ '

Felicity's hands came up fast to clasp at Oliver's wrist, her equilibrium tottering.

When they finally parted for air Oliver's eyes bore heavily into hers, the clandestine blue melting her insides in ways she would never admit out loud.

Oliver could push Felicity down the rabbit hole like no one ever had—and if Felicity was being honest it was a more of a solid shove. He called to her heart like whispering sonnet, and yet there were still so many things about him that made her pause.

When Felicity had found Oliver crumpled on the floor— a form she'd realized she had seen once before—her first reaction had been awe and shock. He was silent where he'd laid, and time seemed to stop around them. The longer she sat there though the creeping itch of concern started, and she was helpless to do anything but watch the rise and fall of his chest in a body she knew nothing about.

The doubts had begun creeping in then, antagonizing her. Why would he seek her out? Where his reasons genuine? Was it a sense of obligation? It went on the longer she watched him and eventually she had to hunt down some technology to get her hands on, unable to continue in the whirlwind that was her head.

And here she was getting wrapped around him—again!

Felicity broke away her breath coming in gasping pants and her heart pounding loud in her ears.

"Oliver wait," She gasped out, a little peeved that he didn't seem so lost in his composure as she felt.

Oliver leaned back against the floor as if he didn't have a care in the world, propping himself up with one elbow and turning his body towards her in a pose that was straight out of an art book. Complete with chiseled abs, a naked body, and a small scandalous sheet.

It was almost too much for her.

"There's still a lot you aren't telling me," Felicity pushed, her brow furrowing at him, "And after last night I feel like you need to tell me what's really going on."

His eyes skirted away, focusing on something past her shoulder and Felicity felt like his wall was going back up.

He surprised her instead when he nodded slowly before moving to sit back up again, struggling to pull his body completely up. Felicity reached a hand out to grasp his arm, helping his sit forward and ignoring the tingles his skin lit in her body.

"I'd rather not have this conversation on the floor," he muttered, grasping the sheet around his waist and looking pointedly at Felicity. She acted quickly, slipping an arm under his and helping support his back, her hand coming to rest tentatively against the now smooth lines of the geas, feeling an unmistakable heat coming from them. How she'd missed the intense warmth coming from the markings till just now was a mystery, she blamed it on how muddled he could make her brain.

"They're so much warmer," she commented lightly, after they had both managed to maneuver him into a standing position. Felicity didn't know why Oliver was still so unstable when he outwardly appeared fine, but she would consider it an improvement none the less. After all, twenty-four hours ago he did have a foreign object imbedded in the skin.

A small sheen of sweat was forming on Oliver's forehead, the tightening of his jaw and bunching of his back muscles under her fingertips giving more away for his discomfort than the man would ever openly admit.

They walked together at a slow pace to the poor excuse of a bed tucked in the back corner of the lair. Oliver dropped himself into the bed as soon as they were close enough in an ungraceful heap and Felicity couldn't prevent the small screech from slipping past her lips as he locked his arm around her, bringing her down quickly with him.

"Oliver!" Felicity exclaimed, pushing away from him quickly and scrambling to pop off the bed, thoughts of his pain and foolishness running through her head before her momentum jerked to a stop as he locked his hand around her wrist. The typical smirk was on his face when she turned toward him, her cheeks red.

"Stay," he commented with a light tug on her wrist. After an assessing moment Felicity rolled her eyes with a small chuckle, her concern flickering away.

"Stay says the dog," she muttered, squealing unintentionally when he tugged on her wrist again, pulling her closer to him intimately.

"This dog bites," he warningly teased, the glint in his eyes promising all sorts of wicked things.

Felicity couldn't help but laugh at the prone man, slapping at his chest and sitting back up. She looked down at him with his arm bent behind his head and the hand that was on her wrist creeping to curve around her waist. The sheet he'd been using to preserve his modesty was wrapped teasingly around his waist and he looked like a present ready for her to unwrapped.

Felicity cleared her throat, removing her eyes from the steady decline of lines leading to the more intimate parts of Oliver.

' _Get your head out of the gutter!_ ' Even as she thought that though visions of their prior encounters flashed in her mind's eye, and she gulped past the sudden tightening of her throat.

It was really unfair what he could do to her without even trying.

The glimpse of Oliver's geas she'd caught while helping him up still mystified her, and to see the physical evidence of his enhanced body just made her more curious to learn everything she could about him.

"Were you born with the geas?" Felicity asked into the quiet room, her fingers wrapping around the forearm locked on her waist and her eyes looking at the tanned skin there.

"It's my families curse," Oliver explained after a moment, and Felicity listened with rapt attention as he continued, "They didn't appear on my body until the first change, but I knew my fate before that day."

The thumb of his hand rubbed small circles on her hip and Felicity darted her eyes to Oliver's, her world narrowing to only them.

"Do they hurt?" She asked, knowing they had to hurt a little if he still wanted to rest.

"No," he lied, and Felicity wondered if the dry arch of her brow was as snarky as it felt.

"Who attacked you?" She countered, the challenge in her voice daring him to lie.

"Why were you in the woods that night?" he detoured, his own challenge rising to meet hers, ever obstinate towards honesty. "That was some pretty dangerous work you were doing here Ms. Smoak."

Felicity huffed at his evasiveness, rolling her eyes at him.

"I was helping my friend Iris out," she told him. Oliver rose a brow slowly, imploring her to continue. "She's a journalist, caught wind of some serious poaching going on and when she gave all the info to the police they pretty much laughed at her. Apparently they have better things to worry about." She explained simply, seeing an unamused Oliver stare her down.

"You went out and released a bunch of wild animals because the police wouldn't?" He deadpanned, and Felicity could feel the lick of annoyance at his tone.

"Yeah, and look who I found there." Felicity sarcastically drew, cocking her head to the side and crossing her arms with a fake smile.

Oliver couldn't help the small twitch of his lips at her smart mouth, just another facet of her that he delighted in, and Felicity had to keep her face straight.

"You don't even know what kind of danger you were getting yourself into." He argued ominously, and Felicity's eye roll was loud.

"That's rich coming from the man who had a _spear_ lodged in his back." She enunciated with a jab in his vulnerable position.

His pointed silence was her only answer and Felicity knew she'd won that round.

"You shouldn't do something so foolish again." he told her seriously, and while Felicity wanted to be irritated with Oliver she knew it was coming from a place of concern.

A soft smile spread across her lips and she leaned down, making herself comfortable in the curve of his body while propping her head on her hand to look down at him. It felt nice being this close to him, and the intimacy of the moment seemed more resolute than ever, and while she wanted to bask in the glory of his bare flesh she was more interested in the openness of his words.

"I would do it again." She told him happily, her smile only growing wider at the deadpanned look he shot her.

Oliver's hand around her waist came to wrap around her shoulder, pulling her body closer still, and Felicity couldn't resist placing a hand on the contour of his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart under her fingertips. The stark contrast of her brightly painted fingers on his tanned skin made her wonder just how far that shade stretched.

An image of a naked Oliver running through the woods had her pausing and biting her lip, the thought was almost too much. If she ever saw that she'd think he was a wood elf or siren coming to steal her soul, because there was no doubt in her mind that if she'd ever seen a naked Oliver running through the woods she would _know_ he was otherworldly.

The vibration under Felicity's fingers had her eyes darting to Oliver's face, her cheeks turning red at the cocky smirk on his lips.

"Who says I haven't come to steal your soul?" He teased, brining his face closer to hers. Felicity could feel the heat thrumming through her veins in milliseconds, the thought of all the wicked things he would do with her body and soul making her ache for the moment.

There were still some things she wanted to know before she could let him consume her though.

"You said the geas were your family's curse," Felicity rushed out, seeing the darkening of his eyes at the mention of their prior conversation, "Where's your family now?"

Oliver turned his face away, staring at the rafters above them.

"I don't know," he grunted out, avoiding her gaze and getting lost in memories she didn't know anything about.

Family was clearly a sensitive subject.

"Are they alive?" Felicity asked and though she felt the tension in him she couldn't let the topic go, her need to know more about him clawing at her.

He was quite for so long that Felicity was sure her answer was no, but right as she was about to change her direction he nodded slowly, his brows furrowed and eyes locking hard on an object over her shoulder.

"My sister. Thea." Oliver told her slowly, his eyes glazed, lost in memory. "At least she was the last time I saw her."

Felicity didn't know how to comfort Oliver but she hoped he could take strength from her just by being there, her hand stroking his chest tenderly.

"Is she cursed too?" Felicity couldn't even begin to imagine how deep everything ran, but to know that Oliver's whole family was suffering the same fate made an anxious ball begin to curl in her gut.

His stiff head nod accompanied by a dark chuckle was her answer, the humor lost in the tone. "That's how I ended up in that disgusting cage," he spat after a second, his eyes flashing dangerously, "I was looking for her. We were separated a couple of months ago."

There was so much more than Oliver was telling her, and Felicity could feel it hanging off his sentence like a noose.

"Why did you come for me then if she might be in danger?" Felicity asked with genuine curiosity. Why Oliver would choose to find her after his escape and not continue looking for his sister baffling her.

Oliver finally looked at her, a small smile tugging on his lips.

"I'll always come for you," he told her tenderly, the look in his eyes having the breath escape her chest in a heavy whoosh.

"I knew where my enemy was, and if he's following me then Thea's okay." The explanation made sense, but it still bothered her.

As much as Felicity wanted to fall with him, wanted to follow him, she couldn't do that until she knew what she was up against.

"Who _is_ your enemy?" The question was one she needed an answer to, and her eyes implored him to be honest with her, to confide in her, to let her help him in his never ending plight.

Oliver stared hard, his expression assessing, the moment hanging in the quiet air.

"Deathstroke." Felicity's confusion must have been readable on her face for Oliver continued a second later, his voice and expression hard.

"His name is Slade Wilson, and he killed my Mother."

Felicity didn't know what to think, the revelation shocking her in more than one way. To realize what Oliver was going through, what Oliver had been through. The complexity of the man before her finally starting to unravel and give light to what he was going through. His sisters whereabouts unknown, a mad man on the hunt for him, his mothers death, it was a lot and there was still so much more. How he'd ever survived up to this point, all of it rushed through her head at a break neck speed, but the openness of the moment took her breath away.

"I'm sorry Oliver," she whispered at his declaration, her heart bleeding for him and everything he'd been through. Felicity silently vowed he wouldn't have to go through it alone anymore and in that realization she was moving, sitting forward and moving her hand to his cheek, cupping the scruff and staring deep into the wolf blue eyes.

"We'll find your sister," she vowed, and she could feel the resolution setting into her bones. It'd been a hot minute since she'd broken laws hacking, but she would break any into firewall or mainframe to help him. "You don't have to do this alone anymore."

The truth of her words rang loud in the silence and from one moment to the next Felicity found her world tilting, Oliver's body hovering above her's suddenly, his eyes blazing a trail to her soul. She barely had the time to take a breath before his mouth was claiming hers, the ferocity of his kiss sending shockwaves from her toes to her fingertips, her blood coming alive for him.

The wild abandonment of the moment had a haze of wonderment clouding her brain, and her hands were unable to keep to themselves. Hot flesh singed her fingertips as she glided them up the broad expansion of Oliver's back, feeling the dips and ripples of his cut muscles beneath the skin.

He was a body of power, the supernatural and sensuality of his being something her life had been without for so long. Felicity didn't know how she had survived this long without this type of connection, but she knew she would never be the same now that she knew such a feeling.

Oliver broke away from her lips and looked down at her, his eyes bright and mouth close.

"I wont let anything happen to you," he vowed in return, "Slade will never touch you."

Felicity didn't know much about Slade—or Deathstroke, whatever they called him—but she did know that if he had the capability to hurt Oliver so severely than she would need to be on her toes. There might come a day when Slade did hurt her, but she would endure it, and she would persevere—for Oliver. Because of Oliver. When she thought of it like that she didn't care if Slade came for her. Let him, they would be ready.

"I know," Felicity whispered to him, smiling up at Oliver and seeing a myriad of emotions flash in his eyes.

"I just can't stay away." Oliver told her, his mouth closing in on hers slowly.

"I know," Felicity muttered again before he sealed their lips again, his hand gliding up her side and tangling in her hair.

It was a desperate kiss, one of promises, apology and hope, and it was a kiss that Felicity would treasure for the rest of her life. She could never regret Oliver, and she could never turn Oliver away. While they still had so much to learn and discover about each other she knew she could never stay away from him for too long.

Oliver broke away from her lips and lowered his body on top of hers, his face finding penance in her throat, the scruff making her lightly giggle.

Felicity could feel the tension draining from his body and knew his exhaustion was eating at him still.

Her fingertips leisurely drifted along his back, offering the silent comfort.

Oliver groaned into her neck and Felicity couldn't help but smile.

"I just want to spend some quality time with my mate and something is always ruining it." He muttered into her skin, his body pushed to its limit.

"It's not like I'm going anywhere." Felicity teased, ignoring the bulge she felt against her thigh. Oliver might not believe her if she ever said it, but she was starting to get sick of something ruining their moments too.

Felicity really wanted to jump Oliver's bones. Preferably soon.

"I promise, it'll be soon," he promised darkly into her throat and Felicity bit her lip as he ground his hip suggestively into her, her mouth going dry.

She really needed to start working on her mind to mouth filter.

"Don't keep me waiting too long," Felicity couldn't resist teasing, the answering nip on her neck having her outright laughing. She didn't know what the next obstacles they would face would be, but it would be dealt with together, and they would only be stronger from whatever they stared down together.

Felicity could feel her life setting into a path that she was ready to follow, her resolve and strength coming from the man who would ask only for her presence in his existence. There was no doubt in her mind that things were to come, and as she sat there stroking the powerful back of a being that should never exist her absolute certainty solidified.

It was her life. Her choice.

And Felicity chose Oliver.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Beta: Fairytailhearts

Enjoy!

* * *

The sound of metal clashing against metal woke Felicity, which was a surprise in itself seeing as she didn't even remember falling asleep.

The thought had her sitting up quickly and looking around to see what the sound was, and as her eyes landed on Oliver dangling from the air by a simple metal bar with no shirt on Felicity was sure she was still sleeping. Because this man was straight out of her dreams.

He was a sight to behold, the bulging and taut lines of his arms and back covered in a light sheen of sweat that added a whole other level of mythology to him. Oliver truly looked like an other worldly man in that moment, and Felicity was truly enjoying it.

Almost as if he could hear her thoughts he dropped his body from the metal, landing on his feet and rising with a grace that had Felicity's mouth drying.

Really though, how could one person be so sexy! It took her hours to look that good and he could do it in a dirty sweat!

Felicity didn't know if she'd spoken out loud or if her face gave too much away but the slow arch of Oliver's brow had her huffing and turning away quickly, embarrassment reddening her cheeks.

She sat up straighter, pulling at the hem of her shirt to get the wrinkles out as he strode towards her, pretending to ignore the way his prowl had her heart picking up in her chest.

"It's still pretty early," He told her with a small smile when he was finally close enough, grabbing a folded towel from a pile of clothes and rubbing his face against it.

Felicity could only nod, her throat too dry from the private show she was getting.

Oliver took a step closer, bending down to sit next to her on the small cot and smiling softly.

This man could well and truly melt her heart in more ways than one.

Slowly the look on Oliver's face morphed into thought, and she could almost see the moment conflict registered in his brain.

"I'd like to teach you a few things," he muttered softly, his eyes running along her face.

"You can teach me anything," Felicity breathed without realizing what she was saying, her face heating a moment later, the next words rushing from her mouth faster than she could stop them. "Not like sexual teaching! Teaching teaching, I'm sure it's important teaching. I know things sexually obviously, I mean, not obviously, I'm sure there are things you can still teach me." She was de-railing fast and at that moment Felicity prayed that Oliver would stop her.

" _Teaching_ , teaching! It sounded different in my head," Felicity tried to clarify, her eyes starting at anywhere but the amused smirk on Oliver's face.

Thankfully Oliver chose to ignore her, though the teasing glint was still there.

"I'll drop you off at your apartment and pick you up for lunch." Oliver started, leaning forward on his knees and looking off into the darkened lair, "I never want there to be an instance where you could get hurt, but I'd rather you knew how to defend yourself." He mused.

Felicity couldn't deny him when he spoke to her like that, like he was letting her in on his innermost thoughts, including her in the process. It was refreshing to have such open access, to know where he was coming from, and she could only hope that he would keep talking to her like this.

Felicity's eyes couldn't help but slide to the wide back that was partially in her view, seeing the unmarred geas, and if she hadn't known how incapacitated he'd been earlier she would have doubted the terrifying experience had even happened. The geas, as they were now, were in their typical knots, the spiraling arches locked against the wolf in an internal bondage that held so much more meaning to Felicity now.

Sometimes Oliver struck Felicity as a fine piece of art, an ever expanding masterpiece that she could stare at for hours…and there went her mind again!

'Okay, time to get ahold of your libido and start making things happen!' She reprimanded herself, pointedly looking away from the beautiful man beside her.

"Is that okay?" Oliver asked, breaking her from her musings and reminding her of his earlier comments.

"Yeah, lunch, sounds great," Felicity agreed easily, thinking of how this whole training thing would go.

' _I hope he trains me with his shirt off_.'

Even if she wanted to the devilish smirk couldn't be wiped from her face at the thought.

* * *

"Again."

Oliver's voice was commanding in the stuffy air, and while at first Felicity had found the commanding edge sexy as hell she was now at her wit's end with him.

This 'training session' had quickly gone from what she thought would be a bonding experience to an unforgiving ass-whooping.

She couldn't even pretend like the sweat dripping from her body was sexy in any way, and while Oliver could pull the look off easily it was not one that she would use to describe herself. Her ponytail had long since fallen from its hight post on her head, her arms and legs burning in the utter exhaustion.

Really the whole situation was unfair.

Ever since Oliver had healed from his injury, which was remarkably only a day's worth of sleeping, he'd been a bit on the paranoid side.

After a night of confided fears and small whispers in the quiet basement Felicity had been surprised by the sudden shift in attitude as Oliver had all but snuck her out of the warehouse and barricaded her in her apartment after doing what seemed like twenty perimeter checks.

Felicity kept the thought of how much he acted like a territorial dog to herself. She knew he was doing it from a place of fear and she hadn't felt the need to mention the blaring holes in Oliver's logic. If Slade was watching him as thoroughly as Oliver suspected, then he would already known who she was. The tense set to Oliver's shoulder and the cold calculation in his eyes had stopped her though.

It was startling to suddenly realize how much stress Oliver was operating under and if she could relieve some of the tension by entertaining his antics than she would.

That didn't mean she would just go along with the sneaking around forever though.

The thought had her huffing up at the man who hadn't even broken a sweat yet.

After his tenacious rounds around her apartment Felicity had tried to drag him in, fully prepared to pick up where they had left off, but the ever obstinate man-wolf had simply pecked her quickly on the lips and left.

She was sure he'd heard the loud banging of her door as she'd closed it harder than intended.

The worst part of it all was Felicity just knew he'd taken some perch somewhere around her apartment to keep an eye on her. He'd heard none of her argument to stay inside with her though, and a girl could only handle rejection one so many times in a day.

"Again." Oliver barked again, the endless meet and greet she was doing with the mats grating against her tired nerves. Felicity understood Oliver had some super human strength, but she certainly didn't, and the constant moves and countermoves were starting to blur together.

Felicity huffed and stood defiantly, taking a step away from him and squaring her shoulders. She was starting to think he was enjoying this too much.

"How much longer are you going to pretend like you're training me?" The snark was unmistakable in her tone, and she didn't even feel bad for getting impatient with him.

The small smirk at the corner of his mouth was her only answer and Felicity huffed in irritation, falling into the stance he repeatedly corrected her on and waiting for him to come at her again.

She wasn't disappointed when a second later Oliver moved, bringing his body effectively into her personal space and crowding her backwards. Felicity swung her arm out like he'd taught her earlier, but as she stepped back in reflex she immediately braced for impact, feeling the corner of her ankle get caught on a strategic foot she knew Oliver had warned her about repeatedly.

Felicity was starting to get irritated with herself for not anticipating the moves. Clearly she should keep her day job.

The mats rushed up to meet her back and the air whooshed from her lungs in a quick puff like every other time.

Oliver took a step away and paced a full circle before standing before her prone form, his smirk a mix between amusement and concern, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Again,"

Felicity popped up off the floor with a growl, her glare defiant and hard at the man.

"No, no more again!" She demanded with a poke to his chest. "I'm tired and need a break from you."

The unamused look he shot at her let her did little to make her feel differently and she knew he was a smart enough man to catch the jab she'd added in there.

It was a tense stare off, but finally Oliver looked away, "well pick this up again tomorrow." He told her easily, uncrossing his arms and holding his hand out towards her, wiggling his fingers for effect.

Felicity rolled her eyes but couldn't keep the grin from slipping past, reaching up quickly to grasp his hand and squeaking as he yanked her quickly to her feet, her chest suddenly much closer to his. If she wasn't so self-conscious of the stink she was sure her body was making she would've taken that last step closer. As it was, she was feeling decidedly unsexy still.

Oliver seemed to pick up on her inner turmoil, a small smirk and taunting brow challenging her to take that step.

Felicity cleared her throat, slowly removing her hand from his and taking a step towards where she'd stashed the bag she'd brought with her.

"I have some more work to do." She muttered distractedly, her thoughts circling around a hot shower and some decompressing hacking, anything to keep her mind from how her slick body would feel against his.

"I'll walk you out," Oliver told her and Felicity felt her exasperation spike.

"Oliver." She huffed.

"Felicity," He echoed sarcastically, and Felicity chose to ignore him.

"If Slade was looking for me, I'm sure he would have already made his move. There's some work I need to finish up and then I'll head home later. I have a shower in my office so I'm just going to head to the office." Felicity reasoned with Oliver, ignoring his unreasonable overprotectiveness.

Oliver was lucky that she'd even decided to dedicate her lunch to his 'training'. She quite liked to eat and what she'd initially thought would be a bit of sly touches here or there turned out to be a more intense regimen. And it wasn't even the hard she wanted!

It was always one step forward and two back with Oliver! Couldn't a girl get her man to make a move?!

Oliver took a step forward, his arms uncrossing and fist clenching, the thumb stroking along the knuckle in agitation. The line in his shoulder was rigid and the furrow of his brow gave him away in more ways than he'd ever know.

Oliver's overprotective streak had been running a bit rampant in the past 24 hours and Felicity was about to shorten that leash, it was a bad habit best broken sooner rather than later.

"At least let me walk you to your car." He told her, and Felicity could feel her eyebrow arch in suspicion.

"Are you going to follow me to work like a stalker?" She asked, not quite believing he'd let the matter of her 'protection' go like that. Oliver just shot her an exasperated look before striding past her and heading towards the stairs, "Is it stalking if you know about it?" He mused to himself, and while she knew he was coming from a place of fear it was still exhausting to have him shadowing her all the time.

She chose to let the comment go, the achy pain in her muscles and tired body just screaming at her to let go and enjoy her time with Oliver. Even if he was like a paranoid Chihuahua.

She couldn't suppress the scoffing chuckle at the thought of Oliver as a Chihuahua, he was definitely anything but.

Her feet felt heavy as she made her way to Oliver, thoughts of what work she had to do and the work she'd done running through her head, allowing her to catalogue it all.

Felicity had spent the whole morning establishing a hard map of the local cameras in the city, and she'd begun the somewhat timely process of hacking into the servers. Normally she could be into a system quickly, but she was roaming from restaurants to street posts and everything in-between, if it had a fiberoptic system that was connected to a network Felicity was hacking into it. A glitch in her code alerted her to a more sophisticated system at an upbeat private club when Oliver had slid into her office, reminding her of her prior promise.

With the system running like it should again Felicity knew it would just take time, and so after sending work messages that needed to be sent off she'd quickly collected her things and followed Oliver out. She would be lying if she said she'd been completely ready for what was unknowingly agreed to.

Of course, it could've also been her own fault for letting her mind stray a bit.

Her cheeks burned at the memory.

Okay, maybe more than a _bit_.

Clearly she needed to dive back into some hacking asap and cool her frazzled head again.

Oliver was making her forget things lately, and if he'd just kiss her then she'd be better. At least that's what Felicity chose to tell herself.

She held her head high as she walked past Oliver, ignoring the look he was giving her and the hot stain on her cheeks.

He might know exactly what she was thinking, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her so flustered about it.

The walk to her car was quick and Felicity was unsurprised to hear the roar of a motorcycle come up around her bumper as she turned out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

She peeked out of the rearview mirror, seeing his body wrapped around the bike and couldn't help the small lip bite.

Even now he could still tease her.

"Damn him."

Felicity made it back to work relatively quickly, the later afternoon traffic surprisingly light, and as the car pulled into the private lot she could hear the engine of the motorcycle darting off. She knew Oliver would watch from a distance to make sure she made it in the building safe, but she was happy he wasn't walking her in.

As Felicity made it to the entrance of Smoak Solutions she paused, turning over her shoulder to wave and smile softly towards where she thought Oliver might be.

Even if he was being a bit overbearing she still couldn't hold it against him.

* * *

Oliver tapped his foot on the curb of the sidewalk impatiently, arms crossed tightly across his chest and eyes scanning the darkened street.

Felicity should have been ready to go by now. He'd texted her to wait for him before leaving and though she didn't reply he knew she wouldn't just ignore him like that.

' _Maybe something is wrong_ ' The little voice of doubt taunted in the back of his head.

The majority of the building had dimmed lights but there was still the occasional bright one and Oliver knew Felicity's tendencies to get lost in her work, but she should have made her way out already.

' _She would've called._ '

Finally, he couldn't resist reaching into his pocket, pulling out the cellphone tucked there and checking the time, his thumb hovering over the contact button.

The memory of her calling him paranoid had him stopping.

Oliver shook his head and pushed the phone back into his pocket, crossing his arms again and scanning the street.

He couldn't pinpoint what it was but something was agitating him. Obviously Slade was a large factor in this, as was his most recent encounter with him, but it was something else too. A feeling from the wolf Oliver couldn't describe completely. He felt on edge, agitated, almost feral, and that coupled with the new threats left him even more unhinged than normal.

The distinct rumble of thunder had his eyes darting to the darkening skies, the city stars disappearing steadily by the incoming storm.

The tapping of his foot started again and with a soft curse Oliver dove back into his pocket, pulling out the phone and flipping to Felicity's name quickly, the hesitation gone as he pressed her number and brought the device to his ear.

On the first ring he was fine, the second his temper began creeping awake—she hadn't answered his text either—and on the third doubt began to fill him, his darkest fears coming from the line and feeding the beast.

By the time the click of her voicemail was coming on Oliver was walking towards the entrance of Smoak Solutions, his pace rushed to her office.

The door was closed and before Oliver even walked in the room he knew it was empty, his hearing picking up no heartbeat and so he barged in without pause. Assessing eyes scanned the area quickly, noting the proof of Felicity's absence and categorizing the space. Nothing looked like it was knocked over and everything like she left it, no signs of a struggle.

With a different curse on his lips Oliver reached back into his pocket to call her cell again, knowing she wouldn't answer, but needing to do something.

The echoing chime of her ringtone sound loud in the quiet room, the vibration from the phone having his senses honing sharply on the device sitting innocently on her desk.

Except if Oliver knew anything about Felicity it was that she was always around her devices.

With his heart thumping in his throat Oliver yanked her phone off the desk, seeing his name flashing on the caller ID. The sound of her voicemail picking up on his device had him moving with a new determination.

The walk to the parking garage was quick, and while it could have more to do with the creeping anxiety, he was still trying to see reason, unwilling to confront the disastrous images in his head with reality. Luckily his natural agility kept him from being spotted by the nightly security guards as he slinked from corner to corner, haunting images fueling him faster.

Felicity might not realize the full danger of his situation, but Oliver had a full grasp of it, and while his wolf might be more on edge than normal if anything happened to her there would be a new type—

The shrill ring of his phone cut his trailing thoughts off and Oliver looked down to the device clutched tightly in his hand, seeing a number flash on the screen that he didn't recognize.

Quickly he punched the accept button, pulling the device to his ear and listening to the person on the other line, the emotions in his body coiling tightly at the impending dilemma.

"Oliver?" Felicity's voice chimed through the speakers, the hesitation clear.

Oliver could feel the air whooshing from his lungs so suddenly that his shoulders dropped in relief. Her hesitation sounded more apologetic than distressed and it was the only thread of explanation that was keeping his sanity intact.

Anger was usually easier to deal with though.

"Felicity, where are you?!" He demanded more harshly than intended, the conflicting emotions coiled up tightly in his chest. It was causing the beast to scratch at his back, the magic contorting and twisting in ways that demanded a physical release. To run, to kill, to do something.

"Oliver I'm sorry, I accidentally grabbed my work phone instead of my cell!" Felicity rushed to explain, the genuine remorse doing little to ease his stressed mind, "I was just about to forward my calls when I realized the tim—"

"Where are you?" Oliver interrupted, caring little about her cellphone situation.

"I'm at home. I decid—"

"Stay there." He barked, cutting her off again and ending the call quickly.

Oliver turned on his booted foot quickly, making his way back towards the entrance with a deep thrumming pounding in his chest.

He needed to see her.

* * *

The ride to her apartment was a quick one—primarily because he'd chose to ignore all rules of the road. Swerving through traffic effortlessly, darting between busses and cars as the images of past blood dripped through his mind. All the how's and what if's running through a mile a minute.

Anything could have happened to Felicity, and she was so naively reckless in everything that she did that Oliver was constantly conflicted with frustration and beautiful awe. He'd never met someone like Felicity, someone who challenged him, making him reconsider things, someone who could talk to both sides of him without even knowing.

The feeling was one he was unfamiliar with, and the need to protect it, to protect her, was insatiable. Coupled with the stubbornness of the woman herself caused his insides to knot in ways he was ashamed to admit.

Who would have ever though Oliver Queen would be in knots over a woman.

It would have his sister laughing at him, and Oliver hoped silently that one day that would come true. He had to keep the thought Thea was alive strong, and while he did that he had to keep Felicity alive.

The constant battle of life and death was one he was getting tired of, and Oliver knew soon the demons would have to be faced head on. The world he was born into was not a nice one, hidden in the darkest shadows of mythology tucked well out of the parameters of normal. For so long he'd done whatever was necessary to survive, but now things had to chance, and the conflict was bleeding into his geas.

Oliver would have to end this. His life couldn't go down these paths with Felicity in it, with the looming threat over his head constantly.

That wasn't a world that he wanted to pull her into.

Felicity's apartment came into view quickly and with a deftness that came from riding for so long Oliver pulled into a parking spot and cut the engine in no time at all, his strides long and quick to the front door.

The thrumming tension seemed to build with each step, images of her apartment in shambles, her body crumpled on the floor, had his heels picking up quicker.

Oliver was banging on her door unceremoniously as soon as he was within reach, listening for any sounds out of the ordinary.

All he heard was the soft pitter patter of foot fall before the door was pulled open quickly, a rush of Felicity's scent reaching out to sooth his senses', the delicate tones of meadow flowers and sunshine making his wolf preen in relief. Oliver inhaled greedily to take more of the scent , watching as she opened to mouth to apologize quickly.

"Oliver I am so sorry! I didn't realize how late it was getting an—" before she could finish the sentence Oliver was taking a step forward, grasping her face between his hands and bring his mouth down desperately against her's.

Felicity responded immediately, reaching up and grasping at his wrist as he took a step forward, pushing her back into the apartment and closing the door behind him with the heel of his boot.

Oliver pulled away from her slowly, looking down at the private bareness to her beauty. Her hair was still wet, the ends dripping with remnants of her shower, the towel hanging around her robe clad shoulders. With her mouth parted slightly, and eyes staring brightly up at him, Oliver was struck with sudden wonderment, his mind hitching on the image she made.

She was breathtaking.

"Oliver." Felicity mumbled softly, her fingers gliding softly over his wrists.

"Don't do that again Felicity," Oliver told her seriously, making sure her eyes were locked with his own.

When Felicity opened her mouth to respond Oliver descended again, capturing her lips in a desperate rush that had been eating at him from the moment he'd seen her office.

Oliver could get lost in Felicity, her scent calmed his beast, her body the man, and as he slid his tongue past her lips he was rewarded with her gentle reception. The soft hands around his wrists moved to the broad expansion of his chest and before Oliver could process what he was doing they were moving, her arms darting up to wrap around his neck as he pushed them towards the closest surface.

The need for her thrummed through his veins, his arousal coming awake with a ferocity that was staggering. The world dropped off around him and all that mattered was Felicity.

Felicity's soft mouth, her smooth hands, her fast and beating heart.

Her scent was an aphrodisiac, her mouth mesmerizing, and unable to keep his hands to just her face Oliver slipped them down along the soft fabric of her robe, feeling the gentle rise and swell of her soft curves beneath the fabric.

Felicity ripped her mouth from his, throwing her head back with his name slipping from her lips in a soft moan.

It was all the encouragement he needed. Oliver could feel the need pumping through his veins with a desperation that left him unable to keep him hands to himself.

He ran his opened mouth along the column of her exposed throat, dragging the scruff of his beard along the line with an intention that left little to doubt.

Oliver could feel Felicity moving her hands from his chest to glide along his back, the fingers stopping just at the waist of his pants and slipping beneath the fabric of his shirt. The shocking sensation of her fingers along the warm skin of his lower back had something in Oliver snapping, and with a ferocity he wouldn't have expected he was spinning her away from him, her staggered gasp only egging him on.

A large hand came to cup the side of her head, leaning her back, her neck exposed to his greedy mouth while the other trailed along the small gap at the rope of her robe.

"You need to be more careful," Oliver reminded with a feral note that sent shivers down her spine.

His fingers slipped effortlessly past the opening, his palm coming into contact with the smooth skin of Felicity's torso, the gasping moan spilling from her throat going straight to the growing length of his arousal.

Oliver couldn't resist the slow grind of his hips against hers, his fingers ghosting along the underside of her breast while the other hand trailed from her throat to the bare flesh peeking out from the ends of her robe, the tops of her legs inviting his touch.

The smooth skin was like silk on his skin, the digits trailing slowly up the length of her thigh with a teasing slowness, his destination clear.

In that second it seemed as if Felicity had also realized his full intent, her own legs rubbing wantonly against the hand creeping slowly upward.

"Oliver," Felicity gasped out, reaching back to tangle fingers in the short hair on his head, her other wrapping around the wrist creeping towards her center, digging into the flesh demandingly.

"Oh, don't stop," Felicity mumbled into the air, her voice breathy with the gasping pants she was making.

Oliver drug the scruff of his beard against the skin of her neck again, pecking at the markings as he went along.

He had no intention of stopping. For so long it had been arm's length and Oliver was ready to sink fully into Felicity. To wake up with her was a desire he was sick of fighting. There were still so many things that needed to be taken care of, but Felicity was all he could think of.

Getting lost in Felicity was all he wanted to do, but it was the only thing he couldn't do yet.

But when her grip tugged his stopping hand everything was lost to him.

The desire reared its head up with a feral ferocity.

Her scent drugged his mind, an aroused haze making him hyper aware of everywhere they touched and how hard he was for her.

Oliver's hand traveled to the apex of Felicity's thighs, his fingers encountering no resistance to the skin hidden under her robe. He smirked into her throat with a teasing nip, her moans an erotic ring in his ears.

His fingers made contact with the silken bundle of nerves, her encouraging moan fueling his desire.

He could feel her body quake in his body as he made slow motions with his fingers, the smooth walls pulling at him to stay. With a feral determination he brought her to the edge quickly, her body hot in his arms, his length stiff against her, coming undone against him as he spun her quickly and pushed her up against the counter of the kitchen bar.

Felicity gasped up at him, her eyes hazed in a face his deepest fantasy couldn't do justice. Their mouth met in a clashing fury of desire, hands heavy and desperate on one another. Oliver nipped against her lip as he felt her fingers slide into the waist of his pants tauntingly.

A sudden crashing noise had every nerve on Oliver's body going on alert, and before he'd even realized what was happening he was moving. Spinning towards the door and using his body to effectively block Felicity from view. His chest was heaving, eyes wild and stunned as them came in contact with nothing, and for the first time Oliver took a solid pause, finally realizing that it was a clap of thunder that had spooked him. The beast was roaring against his skull to be let out, the man pounding angrily at his chest to stay and the impeding reality of how lost he was in Felicity settled hard in his bones.

He'd completely forgotten where he was.

This was his own personal curse with Felicity. His salvation was his greatest weakness, something the wolf seemed to realize at the most inopportune times.

Oliver would never be able to keep her safe if he couldn't even maintain a hold of his surroundings while he was with her.

But it wasn't just his wits this time. The geas were like an electric fire along his back, the real war between beast and man struggling for control just under his skin having him still as a statue.

Too many emotions were coursing through his blood, the tension from his very strained arousal to his very real anger causing an almost electric shock to skim under his skin.

Oliver knew the wolf blue of his eyes would be bleeding through, and he also knew he couldn't stay any longer.

He didn't know what he was capable like this, especially when something like this had never happened to him before. He'd never been so out of align with his other half so badly and it left an unsettled pit in his stomach. He couldn't let Felicity see him like this.

Oliver turned, looking at said woman over his shoulder before shadowing his eyes again. It would kill him to scare her, and he never wanted to see Felicity look at him in fear.

"Lock the door behind me. I'm going to do a perimeter check." Oliver told the quiet woman, the rough edge in his voice giving him away.

Oliver didn't even wait for a reply, and as he pulled the door shut quickly behind him he could hear his name softly being called. He knew what an ass he was sure he looked like, but the overwhelming instinct to run, to kill—to fuck—was a shameful need he wasn't ready to confront her with.

First, he needed to figure out what the wolf's problem was, then he'd tackle the man.

Felicity didn't move from the spot Oliver had left her at until she heard the roar of a motorcycle engine flaring to life, the ebbing sound further proof of his retreat.

She had no idea what had just happened, but the hurt and rejection initially creeping into her chest left just as quickly as she'd caught the look in his eyes while he'd turned from her. The internal battle she'd seen there had her pausing, and a greater understand had dawned on her in that moment.

Whatever was going on with Oliver had more to do with him than her, of that she was sure.

' _I hope he's okay_ ,' Felicity thought absently as she watched the door he'd all but ran from.

The icy blue of his eyes was more wolf than man when he'd left, and Felicity couldn't help but wonder where he was running off to.

From the second Oliver had burst into her door she could tell he was on high-alert and the fact that he'd left just as quickly as he'd entered still had her floored, a hysteric giggle fighting free. Felicity looked down at her kitchen counter, seeing her opened laptop in sleep mode and her boggled brain was only able to form one thought.

"I didn't even get a chance to tell him what I found."

* * *

Felicity was dreaming.

The field she was in had the vignette hue around the edges, tall grass swaying in the wind with the occasional flower in full bloom littering the planes. This was never a place she'd been before and the feeling of happiness drugged her body, sweet-nothing whispers dancing pleasantly in her ears.

Felicity couldn't pinpoint what the dream was about, the vision shifting and changing just as she was grasping at the picture. It was like slipping underwater and trying to hear the conversation above. She could see the painted picture before her but couldn't understand it.

The wolf darted between the tall grass and a fluttering laughter chimed like small bells in response.

Felicity might not know what the dream was about, but she was undoubtedly happy, and she knew without a doubt that the beast chasing her was playing happily.

They ran for who knew how long, the trickling laughter echoing in the warm landscape. It was such a pleasant dream, and one she didn't want to wake up from till she absolutely had to.

Just as the thought registered a shadow fell over her and Felicity looked back, seeing a bulking silhouette tower over her. A pit of terror unlike any she'd ever experienced ate at her gut, the feeling telling her to run, to never look back, to fight with everything she had.

A hand reached out, the darkness wrapping like a vise grip around her wrist and causing her to cry out, the pain a shocking sensation.

She was yanked forward harshly, feeling a certainty settle in her gut.

She was going to die.

As the realization dawned on her only sadness reached out to meet her, to know that this was how their story ended, that everything he hated in the world was coming to fruition. To know he would call it a curse and not the blessing it was.

A smirking set of teeth invaded her vision, a malicious voice taunting her in her despair.

" _Only death can tame the beast._ "

Felicity came awake with a heaving gasp, her eyes wide and unseeing in the dark room, her heart beating erratically in her chest. The nightmare was burning in her brain, and she just knew it ended with her death.

She brought her hand up, looking down at her forearm where she was yanked forward and felt her world teeter, her eyes dilating and ears ringing.

There, on her forearm, were three triangulated bruises forming, the size bigger than what her fingerprints were but small enough to remind her of the eerie feeling of the tight grasp from her dream.

' _What the frack is this?!_ '

Felicity brought her other hand over, ignoring the small tremor in her fingertips as she ran them lightly along the small marks. It looked like the beginning stages of a bruise, a faded patch of grey, but the symmetry gave her pause. They were almost too close, at such an awkward angle, that she couldn't imagine someone's grasp like that.

She laid her fingers on the three marks slowly and felt the pressure in her chest ease slightly.

Whatever the bruise was from it wasn't from her dream, the angle was too awkward, even for her. She must have bumped into something at work or even while she was training with Oliver earlier.

The logic had her releasing a deep breath and sinking back into her bed, sprawling out in an attempt to calm her restless body.

That nightmare had been jarring to say the least, and Felicity didn't know what any of it meant, but she had a bone deep knowledge that it ended in her death. Unconsciously she ran her hand over where she knew the marks were. It was only a coincidence, reason could attest to that, but reason couldn't explain away the slight unease that was a sour aftertaste in her heart.

Felicity was beginning to doubt some of the logic she thought she knew.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch 6

* * *

The fresh smell of coffee was always an invigorating perfume, both a much needed caffeine jolt and the alluring promise of a new day. Both of which Felicity felt was needed after the crazy night she'd just had. She shook her head to prevent herself from tunneling down that particular rabbit hole.

She wasn't ready to even start thinking about Oliver until a shower and coffee.

Said shower was hot enough to tinge her skin in a light shade of pink, but Felicity could only think of the dream—or rather nightmare—her thoughts a disorganizing cycle under the torrent of water. The dream evoked many different emotions, and she didn't know which one to focus on, if any. It was all extremely confusing and she wondered, not for the first time, if it was just a symptom of an overactive imagination or possible stress.

It was just a dream after all.

Yet, even as she tried to ease her anxious mind with the assurance her hand drifted unconsciously to the marks staining her wrist faintly. No pain accompanied the action, but neither did any sense of relief.

With a shake of her head Felicity reached back, cutting the shower off and slipping her wet body quickly from the tub, grabbing a dry towel to wrap herself in.

There was nothing her mind could pacify her with, and there was no reason to dwell on thoughts that just made her confused and angry.

Determined blue eyes shore in the clouded reflection of the mirror, a new resolution set. A crazy dream would not have this kind of control over her. With a nod Felicity cleared the bathroom and sauntered into the biting air of her apartment.

She could really go for that cup of coffee now.

After attempting to dab most of the dripping water from the ends of her hair Felicity grabbed the small lounge shorts and tank top she wore around her apartment on lazy days. Dressing was a quick affair and she wasted no time heading to the coffee pot that was practically singing her name at this point.

Her mind was still stumbling over thoughts of Oliver and her unexplainable draw—and subsequent worry—over him, but she couldn't keep the thoughts up without a headache if she didn't get her fix soon.

Oliver had never returned from the perimeter check he'd claimed needed to be done, and Felicity was more than convinced that it was more of an excuse to get away from her than an actual security precaution.

That train then led her down the road of the type of security she really needed. What exactly was she getting into with Oliver? She was a little more than nervous to realize she had no real idea of just how much danger—if any—she was currently in.

With a fresh cup of coffee secured Felicity padded to her couch, flopping down carefully and pulling her sleeping laptop to the neighboring cushion.

Technology always had a way of distracting her from the world, and she found herself wanting for the release of her new reality.

Oliver had a special way of wrapping her into certain knots.

Some of which were less appropriate than others.

Felicity couldn't help from trailing into those thoughts and with a blush and shake of her head she waited impatiently for the computer to boot up, trying to think of anything other than what she currently was.

There were still a lot of things that her and Oliver needed to talk about, one of which being his uncanny ability to slip away just as things were getting interesting. While Felicity thoroughly enjoyed everything they'd done till now, she was starting to develop a complex.

A girl could only handle so much.

A light rapping on her door had Felicity pausing, eyes closing briefly as she steeled her nerves.

She knew who that was, and she was remarkably unsurprised to hear him back so soon. A small part of her had been expecting it if she were being completely honest. Oliver had a bit of predictability streak when it came to his impromptu visits.

Felicity hopped up from the couch with more haste than she'd ever openly admit, and walked steadily to the door. She opened the door quickly, coming face to face with said man who had all but ran from her the night before.

"Good morning Oliver," Felicity muttered, not missing the way he pointedly avoided her gaze.

The gesture was surprisingly uncharacteristic and Felicity couldn't help but wonder if something else was going on in that complex head of his.

She huffed to herself with a small laugh as she turned, throwing the door open further in invitation before heading back into the living room. Of course something more was going on. The real mystery was if he would share with the class.

Felicity was glad her back was momentarily to the man, the small smile unable to stay off her lips. At least he was consistent with his inability to share too.

She sat quickly back on her spot in the couch, looking up at the silent man with a slight eyebrow raised.

He'd had the decency to close the door behind him, but was now standing awkwardly in her living room, looking at anything and everything but her.

"Oliver, are you going to sit down or stand there the whole time?" Felicity lightly teased, trying to keep the tension from seeping into the room. Nothing would ever be accomplished if he started clamming up on her now. "There's a fresh pot of coffee I just brewed if you want some. I don't even know if you drink coffee—can wolves have caffeine? I don't even know how much that would effect a wolf," she babbled unintentionally, gesturing wildly towards the kitchen to cut herself off before picking the laptop up from the couch and setting it in her lap to continue with some work and hopefully end the tangent her brain was taking her on.

She didn't look up again for a while as he shuffled around awkwardly, leaving her peripheral briefly and clattering around in the kitchen before he was there again, sitting slowly beside her on the couch.

It took all Felicity had to resist openly staring at the brooding man, mildly surprised that he'd followed her direction so well so far.

This was a tactic she would have to remember for future conversations.

The clanking of a mug on her coffee table finally had her looking up and over her screen to the stiff figure. Oliver was sitting forward, his forearms braced on his knees and hands locked tightly together, a small frown tugging on the corner of his lips.

Felicity just watched him silently, letting him have the room until he was finally ready to say what he wanted to.

Oliver looked at her from the corner of his eye before quickly darting his gaze forward, starting at her blank television.

He cleared his throat with a grimace before muttering words Felicity was sure she'd misheard at first, "I'm sorry."

The laptop was placed quickly on the table beside his mug and Felicity sat forward, staring intently at the side of Oliver's head. "Are you apologizing to me or the tv?" She prodded.

With furrowed brows Oliver slid his eyes to her, his body still strung tightly forward, the muscles of his arms tense.

"I didn't snap at your tv." He finally clarified, and while his apology left room for improvement Felicity was still happy to have something to work with.

She decided to put him out of his misery quickly, unable to tease the man-beast too much while he was making a valid attempt of an apology. With a bright smile she reached forward and rested her hand around his wrist, catching his attention fully.

"You're forgiven."

The effect of her world were immediate, the muscles under her hand unraveling quickly and his shoulders dropping with the tension ebbing from his body until he finally turned his hulking frame towards her.

Felicity would never admit to him how happy she was to have forgiven him in that moment too, for the next instant a look a disbelief washed his face before a slow smile spread across his lips. It was one she'd never seen before, crooked and bashful and oh so beautiful that it made her heart skip a beat painfully in her chest and breath stutter in awe.

With the light dancing in his eyes and the genuine tilt of his lips Felicity felt like she was coming home, her very soul tingling in her body. The feeling was one she'd never experienced and to suddenly feel it so tight—so warm—in her chest had her gulping carefully, trying to keep the reactionary panic from bubbling to the surface and into her expression.

Felicity didn't want to ruin this moment. The first moment she realized that even among all the unknowns still unanswered, dangers still lurking, and mysteries to uncover, she felt something else for Oliver.

She loved Oliver.

Felicity Smoak loved Oliver, and it was unlike a love she'd ever felt.

Before Felicity could do more than take a shuddering breath Oliver was leaning forward, placing a hand behind her neck and softly melding his lips against hers.

It was a different kiss, an intimate kiss. One that coupled with her sudden revelation had the ground falling out from under her feet in a dizzy array of emotions.

She was a hopeless goner. This man would destroy her, and she was tired of trying to resist him.

When Oliver pulled away from her lips Felicity couldn't help but keep her eyes closed for a moment longer, truly absorbing the overwhelming sensory and emotional high coursing through her system. When she opened her eyes it was to that same breathtaking smile, the wolf hidden just beneath the surface beckoning her to play and bask in his happiness.

Slowly his smile lowered, his eyes peering deeply into her own, and Felicity found the only thing she could do was stay silent.

She didn't trust her mouth at that moment anyways.

"It's confusing," Oliver began softly, refusing to break eye contact as he tried to bridge the gap she was always so hyper aware of, "I've never had to separate the two. The wolf and man." It never failed to escape her notice that he frequently spoke of himself in the third person.

"They don't ever seem to see eye to eye," he continued, Felicity wouldn't correct him now she decided, "but I can't let anything happen to you. The wolf is too wild. The man is too ruthless. I don't know if I'll ever be able to be what you need, but I promise that I won't stop trying."

By the time Oliver had finished his steady proclamation Felicity could feel a choking knot in her throat, her heart hammering loudly in her ears. She didn't know what to say, and doubted she could speak even if she tried.

Taking a page from Oliver's book instead, she moved, bringing her mouth softly against his and tangling her hands at the back of his head. Her heart was thundering heavily with the burning emotions that threatened to swallow her whole.

Felicity didn't know what she'd done to deserve such an enigmatic man, and she wouldn't have it any other way. No one had ever been as capable to make her feel as strongly as Oliver, and just when she thought she was finally starting to understand him, he'd go and rock her world in ways that she could never imagine.

Oliver wasted no time in meeting her mouth with his, and she could feel that lovely smile against her lips moments before his hand moved from her neck to the small of her back.

Felicity felt a fire suddenly come over her and couldn't find the will to resist the pull any longer. The power he commanded over her was intoxicating and though falling was terrifying she found herself suddenly leaping into the sensation with open arms.

She was tired of fighting what she wanted.

Quickly taking charge Felicity leaned forward into his personal space, pushing him soundly into the back of the couch. Their mouths dislodged for the briefest of moments, long enough for her to see the wicked smile on his face before she was crawling into his lap swiftly reattaching her hands around his neck and claiming his mouth for her own with a desperation that would normally embarrass her.

Oliver shifted his hands to the curve of her waist, squeezing and pulling her further forward, making her hips grate provocatively against the growing bulge in his jeans.

Felicity ran her hands into the short hair at the base of his head, gripping the hair tightly with a moan as electric shocks ran through her body by the action.

The sound spurred him into action and moments later calloused fingers were running along the inside of her shirt, traveling up the expansion of her back and pulling her closer.

Felicity felt like it still wasn't close enough, her legs locking around Oliver's hips and rolling unconsciously as she sought whatever relief from the searing heat she could find.

Oliver groaned into her mouth and with a dexterity she didn't posses her shirt was suddenly removed, the dampened ends of her hair landing swiftly against her back. The contrasting cold from the still damp strands against the warmth of her skin had her ripping her mouth from Oliver's, arching her back forward with a moan. His mouth latched heatedly over the swell of her still concealed breast.

"Felicity," Oliver muttered into the room, his breath puffing against the sensitive skin, a hand already gliding into the tight strap along her back.

"Oliver," she moaned, the fingers in his hair tightening and holding his head to her, "don't stop."

It was as if those words were the ones he'd been waiting to hear, for a second later with his own groan slipping against her flesh the band around her back released, the open air hitting the heated skin of her breast.

The hand on her neck skated forward, slipping along the swell of flesh he'd opened to his waiting hands and mouth, both of which descended on her with a gentleness that was misplaced.

Felicity could feel the fervor claw at her chest. She pulled his head harder into her skin, a heated whimper leaving her lips. "Oliver please," she pleaded again, hoping that he could tell what she wanted.

With an answering growl a sudden weightlessness had Felicity clinging tightly to his chest, her legs dangling for a moment before she locked them tightly around his waist, feeling broad hands at the cusp of her ass, pulling her against his straining arousal.

Felicity dipped her head down, claiming his mouth in a clash of teeth and tongue, her hands gliding from his neck to the wide expansion of tightly coiled muscles along his back. She bunched the material covering her prize in greedy hands, wrenching it up impatiently.

Felicity was much less graceful at removing clothes than Oliver, and as the material got caught under his arms she felt a smirk against her lips. She nipped his bottom lip in retaliation of the tease and a moment later he reached one hand back with her to assist pulling the material up and over his head.

The second the shirt slipped over his face they paused, Felicity staring intensely into the icy blue of Oliver's eyes, her breath sharp pants in her chest.

The moment between them was suspended in time all the passion and desire echoing back from Oliver's own gaze and slowly Felicity leaned forward, kissing Oliver soundly, feeling the fire simmering with such intensity in her chest.

"Tell me to stop," Oliver begged against her lips, his hands squeezing and pulling her locked hips against his own, unable to stop touching her.

Felicity shook her head and slid her hands down the slope of his naked spine, pressing her bare chest against his and latching her mouth against his neck. "Please don't stop," she whispered, her words coming in panting gasps.

"Felicity," Oliver groaned out, taking a sudden step forward and towards what she assumed was her bedroom.

He could take her in any room, she didn't care, as long as he didn't stop.

Her wandering hands couldn't stop in their exploration of his flesh, taking delight in the shudders and shivers he gave her, his covered erection lodged between their bodies with a predatory promise.

The walk to her room was a quick one, and in the next moment Felicity felt her legs being unwrapped from around Oliver's waist, her body dropping quickly to her bed. With the air whooshing from her lungs she opened her eyes, staring at the scene that was in front of her.

Boy was she glad she opened her eyes.

Oliver stood before her with hooded eyes, the blue shining in a way that she knew was paranormal but had the pulse in her neck jumping, the ache between her legs tightening for him.

Oliver was a sight to behold, the barely contained strength in his body only highlighted under the rise and fall of the smooth muscles wrapping him dangerously. He reached down towards his belt slowly, still giving her time to tell him to stop, and dragging the leather through the latch before unbuttoning the top button.

And Felicity could tell just how _tense_ he was.

She felt herself gulping, the teasing promise of what was still hidden having her toes curling.

Oliver moved with grace, bending down over the bed and crawling up towards her, trailing hot kisses along the bared skin as he went. Felicity never broke eye contact, feeling a tight need for him threatening to undo her in ways unimaginable. Her fists clenched in the sheets around her, the sight and feeling of Oliver moving up her body, spreading her to him, having desperate gasps escaping her lips.

A warm mouth descended on her breast, calloused hands running up and then down the slope of her sides, hooking on the waist of her shorts and pulling them along with her panties steadily from her hips. He pulled back as he slipped them off, his burning gaze fixing on the lip trapped tightly in her teeth.

He leaned forward, reclaiming her mouth with his own and trailing a hand down the curve of her waist to the apex of her thighs, his fingers moving with an unmistakable intent.

The moment his fingers made contact with the silken heat Felicity felt the sparks short circuiting her breath, the fire begging for more.

Oliver seemed to be equally lost. He pulled away from her lips, his stare a smoldering gaze before his mouth descended over her neck, ravishing the exposed skin there.

Felicity could do little more than hold on, her fingers digging into the muscles of his back as he teased and stoked the fire burning for only him.

"Oliver," she moan helplessly, legs clenching tightly around his hips while he continued to tease and pull her further towards the ledge.

"Oliver, please! It's too much," Felicity begged weakly, feeling the shudders already threatening her body. While she would love nothing more than for Oliver to take her to the edge and back, she was oversensitive and desperate for something more.

Oliver sat up, dropping kisses along her cheek.

"Next time," he told her with a heated kiss, lifting her knee up and latching her leg behind his jean clad leg.

Felicity moaned, slipping her hands into the waistband of his pants and pushing the fabric down desperately, feeling the smooth rise of his firm ass on the tips of her fingers. His position and the height difference put her at a disadvantage and even as she tried to push the fabric further down it stuck stubbornly to the swell of his hips.

Felicity threw her head back, ripping her mouth from Oliver's with groan, growing out her own displeasure, "take them off," She demanded impatiently.

Oliver buried his face in her neck again with a smirk, lightly rapping his teeth along the column and Felicity couldn't contain the shudder that traveled through her limbs. Oliver was such an electric man, and he was lighting ever nerve ending in her body alive.

He moved quickly wrenching the fabric away from his hips, his body only away from hers for seconds before his own burning skin was covering ever inch of her own.

The sensation had Felicity's mind shutting down, and all she could do give in to the feelings he called from her. Both arms and legs came to anchor Oliver to her, as if he would change his mind and walk away at any second. From the stiff erection trapped between them she realized that was very much off the table.

Oliver worshiped her body mercilessly, his hips pumping against the bundle of nerves in a way that had Felicity seeing stars behind her closed eyes. She hadn't even realized they had closed.

"Oliver," Felicity moaned, her fingers pulling at the marred skin of his back.

"Felicity," Oliver echoed into her neck, his hand on her other hip a tight grip that anchored him to her.

After what felt like an eternity Felicity finally—finally—felt the thick tip of his arousal resting on the opening of her sex, her toes curling into the back of his thighs and pulling him closer.

Oliver gladly conceded, pushing into her slowly, every inch taking another breath from her body until he was finally seated fully into her.

A shuddering moan left Felicity's lips, and she felt like she was on fire, her body stretched and filled in a way only Oliver could achieve.

A gentle nip on her neck brought Felicity back down to her body, clenched tightly around Oliver.

"Are you okay?" Oliver panted, but all Felicity could do was moan her approval, dragging her hands up his back and twisting her hips under his, pulling a moan from Oliver's lips.

In the next second he was moving, clearly understanding her desperate request.

Felicity could only hang on, swearing she'd do more next time, and feeling the pressure build as Oliver continued his steady thrusts, his body like molten fire on her own. Everywhere they touched was alive. Every caress and kiss electric on overly sensitive skin.

Finally Felicity felt the build of her release, her teeth sinking into her lip as she clamped down hard against Oliver as she was pushed violently from the ledge she'd been desperately searching for. From the ends of her hair to the tips of her toes she felt the shuddering release, her breath stuttering out of her chest erratically, Oliver's name a strangled gasp on her lips.

Oliver growled deep in his chest, feeling her release clenching around him and moments later Felicity felt the world spin.

She opened her eyes in surprise, her arms and legs locking when she realized what Oliver was doing, his weight shifting above her and hand cupping the slope of her breast and smooth skin of stomach, his face burying into the back of her throat.

With a smirk Felicity bit her lip and looked back at Oliver, seeing the icy blue stare back at her.

"So possessive," she breathed, the laugh turning into a moan as he purposefully thrust into her, the position sliding him deeper than before.

No more words were exchanged as he moved, his mouth hot on her flesh, his hands pulling and kneading in a way that had Felicity reaching back with a hand, tangling fingers into the short hair she felt there.

The hand on her stomach slid down, finding the spot that would unravel her again and rubbing with purpose in time with his thrusts.

The speed of his thrust picked up in intensity, the sound of their passion filling the air, and Felicity clamped down hard on Oliver, his name again ripping from her throat as he took her over the edge of her release. His own followed a moment later, the heat of him filling her as her name fell raggedly from his own lips pressed tightly against her throat.

They didn't move for many moments, and Felicity could only slump forward, her body shaking and tired.

That was way better than anything she'd ever imagined.

Oliver slid down beside her, pulling her against his chest where she could hear his own heart thundering in his chest.

A large hand buried in her hair and Felicity could feel a languid smile creep on her lips, her hand resting on his chest trailing along a small scar she could see.

"That was…unexpected." Oliver finally spoke into the silence, and all Felicity could do was laugh in response.

It certainly was.

"I should apologize more." He muttered, the teasing bright in his voice, his fingers cupping the bare curve of her shoulder and sliding down her arm, tangling with her hand.

Felicity sat her head up, looking up at the relaxed man through her lashes with a small smile.

"You keep distracting me," she told him, seeing a wicked glint flash in those blues as he pulled her closer.

They laid there for a while longer, rough digits trailing along the smooth skin of her back and causing goosebumps to rush along her skin.

The hand trailing against her arm slowly turned it over, exposing the strange marks on Felicity's arm and the fingers stilled.

"What happened here?" Oliver asked gently, concern in his eyes. He was always so concerned with her. It was too sweet.

Felicity smiled with a small shrug of her shoulders.

"I don't know," she told him, "I think I bumped it on something, but it doesn't hurt."

That seemed to pacify Oliver for the next second he was releasing her arm to lean down, kissing her slowly and making her heart warm her chest. It amazing Felicity how such a small action could make her heart swell with such love for this man, and still a small part, that part that always made her doubt had her reeling in slowly.

There were still some things she needed to assess before she gave into the emotions she was feeling completely.

' _It seems like you gave in pretty completely_.' That inner voice mocked.

She pulled back suddenly when another thought occurred to her.

"Wait before you distract me again," she rushed, pushing her hands against her chest and sitting away from him.

An arched brow prodded her to continue.

"I was running a cross diagnoses on the routing numbers to some of those off shore accounts you gave me," Felicity started. Said accounts had such a large sum of money in them that she had initially been staggered, briefly wondering how he'd come to acquired such a sum before she decided that she didn't want to know. At least for now, Felicity hated mysteries and would figure that one out eventually too.

"Small amounts have been withdrawn, so small that I didn't catch them at first but I looked into it and found where it had been cashed." She told him, seeing a glimmer of hope enter his eyes—he was thinking the same thing that she was, Thea must have withdrawn some of the funds, but Felicity regretted that the next sentence would dash some of that hope.

"It was from about four months ago," she told him slowly, "but at least I have a pinged point, so I set the server to alert me if similar amounts were pulled out and hopefully we can get a closer location sooner to where she might be."

Oliver didn't say anything, just gazing at her with soft eyes, running his fingers along the slope of her cheek.

"You're remarkable," he told her softly, gratitude and something else in his voice.

Felicity smiled with a blush, feeling bashful under his praise, looking away from the smoldering gleam in his eyes, "thank you for remarking on it."

She was on cloud nine.

Here in her bed with Oliver, feeling the gentleness he kept so tightly hidden from the world, and nothing could tarnish it.

She felt safe here in his arms. Later, when the post collateral glow diminished she swore she'd evaluate the things running through her head, but for now, here with Oliver, she took in every look and feeling. There was no other place she'd rather be.


End file.
